Station manager Panthakan
Phromprangkun works the morning show.
Warunya Thongrod
Long a fixture in Bangkok and Thailand’s troubled
southern provinces, community radio has come to Pattaya, serving as both
an information resource for residents and a public-relations mouthpiece
for city hall.
Thappraya Radio 94.75 officially launched Feb. 14
after a three-month trail run. Nineteen hosts man the airwaves from 7
a.m. to midnight weekdays and 6 a.m. to midnight on weekends.
Talk shows take complaints from Pattaya residents
while other programs boast of the completion or progress on public works
projects started by city hall. Pattaya and national news, traffic,
entertainment and other information fill the rest of the time.
Station manager Panthakan Phromprangkun said he has
volunteered to head the station after working many years in the radio
business.
“I believe Pattaya now has all equipment and tools
required to service residents but only lacked the channel to promote and
communicate with them,” he said. “Thappraya Radio is proving extremely
productive in connecting residents and public officials.”
City hall regulatory enforcement chief Maj. Col.
Jeerawat Sukhonzup also works part-time from 7-9 a.m. delivering news.
He said he sees the work as just part of his job of serving residents.
“Thappraya Radio is creating a lot of interest among
residents as the new station in town,” he said.
