WHY MY SHIRT IS RED…Warning! This may upset all my friends...for that I am sorry. I added the part below in all fairness and that I have an opinion very different from the majority of my family, friends and even neighbors on the matter of Dr. Thaskin. But, this also means that I have met, looked in his eyes (how many people protesting can say that?) and I truly respect his love of his country and to his deep felt desire (as he said) to bring Thailand into the 21st Century and (more importantly) to bring the vast number of poor, the rural farmers and the others that society has always shunned (except to throw a few baht at an occasion beggar as an act of merit). into the bounty of Thailands future. This post will cost me greatly as I live in a landscape…in a sea of yellow shirts and I understand that most view me as an interloper, a carpetbagger and who am I to have a say? All that is true and just points but, Thailand has been my home on and off for the past 33 years. After 33 years, I have called Thailand home longer than I have America or longer than many of my readers have been alive…So, I feel that I have an opinion. Love my friends, family and even my neighbors…they have been kind and just to me and this is deeply appreciated but, in this case…I truly believe that they have it wrong. I could wax on for hours (and I have) about what Dr. Thaskin was able to achieve as Prime Minister…like we could talk about the national health insurance that you have but, America doesn’t or that in every election…even those controlled by the military that overthrew him…his party as always won…WHY? Because the poor, the rural and the forgotten understand that he was their champion...that he supports and offers them a hand not out of pity but out of love and his belief that they too can be a part of the Thai Dream of a better tomorrow for everyone. As I point out that I worked for him because I greatly admired his life story, the trueness of his love for wanting to make Thailand a 21st century country that would embrace, take care of and that loved everyone as equals – not only the rich, the educated and the privileged. Change comes hard and those who have always benefited from the bounty of Thailand’s great wealth do fight hard, do turn a cold, stone heart to any thought of sitting down and unemotionally discussing the recent past, the urban legends of totally false stories that have poisoned the well of reason – much as the 1% of American have united to destroy President Obama here in America. I understand that I will be unfriended by most of my family and friends (as the guru use to say…there comes a time…when you must stand up and be counted or else, you stand for nothing…so here it is) but, I have seen the other side, I have talked to the man and if you had that opportunity, I truly believe that you opinion would be closer to mine. Change comes hard but, truth, justice and our ability to wheel it correctly will be what the future will remember. To the man who brought Thailand into the 21st Century from the cell phone that you use, to the satellites that he financed not out of the people’s funds but from his own pocket…pockets filled with money that through his forward thinking and that he spent a lifetime working very hard to achieve. This is the man who could have lived his entire life as Thailand’s Bill Gates and he could have made himself feel good by donating funds to charities but, he so loved his country, he so believed that he could make a difference that he forsake an easy, uneventful live of the rich and privileged…I think history will justify his legacy and it is time to let him come home to the land that I know he deeply loves! As a disclaimer, yes, I did work for him at IBC many years ago but, have not had any business with him since that time. So, I was there before the politics and I saw, heard a great man (his life story is remarkable…the closest we get here in American would be Bill Gates, maybe mixed with Ted Turner and a lot of Steve Jobs) who wanted to change his country to include all of its citizens in the great bounty of Thailand. So, this is my soapbox and now, I will take it and leave the stage. DISCLAIMER: Television Network Programming Executive (Assistant Channel Manager) Shinawatra Telecommunication Company, International Broadcasting Corporation - IBC TV July 1990 – July 1991 (1 year 1 month)Bangkok, Thailand As a TV Acquisition Manager at Shinawatra Telecommunication Company, International Broadcasting Corporation - IBC TV; purchasing millions of dollars’ worth of very complex broadcasting licenses and being in a very competitive National TV Market where many TV Networks were seeking programming advantage(s); analyzed and interpreted complex legal documents and in dedicating all energies to doing a detailed analysis of available programming all the way back from distribution to pre-production level to ensure that my network maintained a program advantage – which meant a larger market share and thus, more profit to the corporation. Successfully delayed rival Thai Sky Network broadcast start-up by one quarter. Held a combined position of Programming Acquisitions Manager and Assistant Channel Manager for the Entertainment Channel” (IBC2) - one of the three channels in the IBC Television Network in Bangkok, Thailand in a role that would be comparable with the Program Acquisitions Manager for HBO in America. Directed all new entertainment programming research and handled acquisition negotiations of several million dollars’ worth of contracts for broadcast licenses, the number of broadcast runs, prices, broadcast windows, amendments and/or time extensions to existing contracts. Researched and negotiated programming availability many times all the way back to the production level. Assisted station manager to creatively plan, scheduled movies and entertainment programming for IBC2 utilizing audience ratings, demographic profile surveys and competitive trend information. Maintained the monthly reporting tools and broadcast logs as required by charter and to ensure contractual complacence of broadcast run agreements. Successfully trained in the process of Demographic Programming by a team from TV New Zealand and utilized that knowledge, in cooperation with our marketing department, to create a detailed audience profile for any time segment in our broadcast schedule.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 12:44:51 +0000
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