By Thaweeporn Kummetha

News media became an easy target for violence at Bangkok demonstrations by red-shirted supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday.

Claiming their numbers were being deliberately underestimated, angry demonstrators attacked three TV reporters broadcasting live from the protest sites.

"I have no idea why they attacked us since I've never reported the number [of protesters]," said Channel 3's Warunee Suesatsakulchai.

Shouts and bottles

She was taking a 10am break in the station's mobile broadcast van when a red-shirted man yelled, "You journalists, why don't you report properly? What's wrong with your ethics?"

Soon after, stepping out to report more developments, Warunee was met by a water bottle thrown by another red-shirt.

About an hour later Channel 7 reporter Sompoch Toraksa had just finished interviewing Jatuporn Prompan, a protest leader, when a group of about 30 men surrounded his car, throwing plastic bottles and condemning his estimates of protester numbers.

Anti-media feeling

Knowing that this sensitive issue can spark anger, both Warunee and Sompoch had tried to avoid reporting estimated numbers.

But after a protest leader stepped onto the stage on the first day to say, "the biased media always lie about how big our demonstrations are", anti-media feeling has spread.

Things were no different at People's Alliance for Democracy protests, where complaints about distorted reports were fuelled by word-of-mouth rumours.

"I asked a protester if she'd actually listened to the report," said Warunee. "She said she hadn't, but had heard about it from others."

One newspaper reporter said that if asked what news agency he came from, he deliberately named one he knew the red-shirts were sympathetic towards.

TV reporters can't use the same trick, as their microphones carry the station logos. At an afternoon press conference, red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan said fake protesters sent to stir up problems could be behind the violence.

Warunee suggested that violence could be avoided if demonstrators "first, ignore word of mouth, and check the original reports for themselves, and second, trust each other - the reporters' job is to report the situation while the protesters need their activities to be broadcast to the public.

"Protesters need freedom to demonstrate, while reporters need freedom to broadcast."