Sorrayuth advised to step down as anchor
NACC's allegations undermine other journalists, even industry, gurus warn
Media personality Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda should either quit the media or temporarily give up his job to take responsibility and prove if he is innocent in relation to the charges of embezzlement he faces, many media gurus said yesterday.The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) recently decided to take criminal action against Sorrayuth for his alleged role in the embezzlement of Bt138.79 million of MCOT advertising revenue while producing a television show for Channel 9 in 2006.
"It is obvious that the media personality and his company have committed the crime. Sorrayuth was the person who signed the cheque and he should know what he had done," Sonthiyarn Cheunruthainaitham, director of T-News, said at a seminar hosted by the Anti-Corruption Alliance.
Sorrayuth and his company - Raisom - that now produces news-oriented and current-affairs programmes for Channel 3 have continued business as usual even after the NACC ruling.
Journalists or those who work in the media industry should not violate their ethics or good practice, Jackrit Permpoun, president of the Press Council, said.
"What is right or wrong from the legal perspective has to be defended in court, but once the NACC issues a ruling, it damages the journalist's dignity and integrity," he said.
"This anchorman is a public figure and the public trusts him. When this trust is doubted and his behaviour is questioned, he should not sit still. He needs to do something to take responsibility," Jackirt said.
'Practice as you preach'
Former dean of Thammasat University's Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communications Seree Wongmontha said journalists were always criticising others of being corrupt, but when something like this happens, their integrity is in question.
"Journalists are responsible to the public. If a journalist refuses to take responsibility, they should leave the profession," he said.
"When politicians and government officials are accused of corruption, we demand that they quit or at least be suspended until proved innocent. Hence, if a media person is accused of the same thing, we should have the same practice."
Academic and media guru Somkiat Onwimoon, meanwhile, advised Channel 3 and Sorrayuth to offer some explanation to the public.
Academic Sangsit Piriyarangsan from Rangsit University said this case should not just be viewed from the legal standpoint, but also from the perspective of ethics.
He said that businesses, especially those in the media industry, should not only consider profits but also take into account social responsibility.
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