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We are happy to announce that Global Voices has recently partnered with The Isaan Record [1], an online news magazine focusing on the northeastern region of Thailand.
The northeast is Thailand’s largest and most populous region but it is underrepresented in mainstream media reports.
The Isaan Record is known for highlighting stories involving the region’s marginalized sectors and other local groups dealing with environment destruction, development aggression, and human rights abuses.
In an interview with this author, The Isaan Record editor Fabian Drahmoune discussed the social aims of the news website:
By delivering well-balanced news, features and analysis from northeastern Thailand, The Isaan Record offers Global Voices readers a new perspective on Thai society and politics. We work to tell the stories of the country’s most populous but underrepresented region in the earnest belief that a well-informed populace is the foundation of a healthy democracy. While most of Thailand’s media focuses almost exclusively on Bangkok-centric news, we incorporate a variety of perspectives into our coverage with a focus on human rights, politics, and environmental and development issues. We want to encourage a shift in Thailand's media landscape to become more inclusive in order to provide the foundation for a more nuanced analysis of Thai society.
Drahmoune also emphasized how the work of independent media platforms like The Isaan Record and Global Voices is crucial in combating the rapid spread of disinformation which erodes public trust in democratic initiatives.
Independent media outlets like Global Voices and The Isaan Record often have the advantage of a closer relationship with their readers than mainstream media. Our journalists and contributors are grounded in the communities they write about and we see it as part of our mission to nurture a relationship of mutual trust with our readers. Because of this close contact, we are able answer to our readers’ needs and interests and also directly address their concerns. We believe that this flexibility enables us to address the current crisis of public trust in journalism.
The partnership with The Isaan Record is expected to broaden and improve the Thailand news coverage of Global Voices. Through this content sharing agreement, we hope to publish more inspiring stories about Thailand, especially the underreported struggles of the country’s northeast residents.
Aside from The Isaan Record, Global Voices is also a content partner of Prachatai [2], another independent news website based in Thailand.