Bangkok--May 27--Kith and Kin
The International Herald Tribune (IHT) announced the launch today of THAIDAY, a new English language business daily distributed exclusively with the IHT in Thailand. This follows the signing in January of a publishing agreement between the international daily and Thaiday Dot Com Company, an affiliate of the Manager Media Group.
THAIDAY content consists of original features on Thai business, political and cultural news. It also contains a daily mix of translated articles from the Manager Media Group business newspaper Phujadkarn.
Richard Wooldridge, IHT president and chief operating officer, said, “This exciting new venture in Thailand is one of a number of major initiatives we are carrying out in Asia in 2005 to build on the increasing demand for the IHT in the region. This includes the addition of more reporting staff and the expansion of our Hong Kong-based regional news operation to further enhance the Asia edition.”.
Jittanart Limthongkul, CEO of the Manager Media Group and managing director of Thaiday Dot Com, said, “The IHT/THAIDAY package offers international, regional and local coverage, and this sets it apart from other English-language newspapers in Thailand. We have put in place a high-powered editorial and business team for THAIDAY. As one of Thailand’s leading newspaper, magazine, television and online publishers, our aim is to serve premium readers, including local and foreign businesspeople, diplomats, media professionals and the next generation of readers and leaders who want accurate and in-depth English-language news.”
The International Herald Tribune currently has eight printing and distribution ventures with leading publishers around the world who produce English editions of their national newspapers for exclusive distribution with the IHT. This represents the third such venture for the IHT in Asia. In 2000, the IHT joined forces with JoongAng Ilbo in Korea to produce JoongAng Daily and in April 2001 it launched the IHT/Asahi Shimbun edition in Japan. Both ventures have delivered robust circulation growth: up 17,401 copies in Korea and up 18,676 copies in Japan since launch (source: OJD).
Randy Weddle, managing director of the IHT in Asia, said, , “We are delighted to be working with Thaiday Dot Com. Together, we are enabling readers in Thailand to follow the breadth of global news and business trends in the IHT and enjoy strong local news coverage in Thai Day, all in one convenient package.
There has been an intensive program of investments in the IHT since it came under the 100% ownership of The New York Times Company in January 2003. This has delivered increased pagination and color capacity, a raft of new sections and features (including Weekend Business, Properties and Film) and a revitalized and recently redesigned news Web site, IHT.com. While working more closely with The New York Times’s global network of reporters, the IHT has also brought in a number of its own high-profile columnists and correspondents, both in Europe and in Asia to enhance significantly its international daily report.
These enhancements to the IHT have already started to generate positive results, as witnessed by the paper’s growth in circulation sales in 2004 and by its positive showing on Ipsos’ business readership surveys in Asia (ABRS 2004) and Europe (EBRS 2004) last year.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
About the International Herald Tribune (IHT)
The International Herald Tribune (www.iht.com) is the premier international newspaper for opinion leaders and decision-makers around the globe. It combines the extensive resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 30 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 180 countries. Based in Paris since 1887, the IHT is part of The New York Times Company.
About The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2004 revenues of $3.3 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other newspapers, eight network-affiliated television stations, two New York City radio stations and more than 40 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. For the fifth consecutive year, the Company was ranked No. 1 in the publishing industry in Fortune’s 2005 list of America’s Most Admired Companies. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.
About the Manager Media Group
The Manager Media Group is publisher of Thailand’s market-leading daily, weekly, and monthly Phujadkarn business newspapers and magazines (www.manager.co.th). Through its affiliate, Thaiday Dot Com Co. Ltd., it also produces Thailand’s respected Channel 11 News 1 and Thai-Lao Channel national-television networks, the English-language Thailand Outlook Channel, the Thai-lifestyle magazines Mars and Mars Style, Manager Online, Thailand’s most-visited business-news website, and The Asia Times Online, one of the world’s most visited, respected, and oft-quoted Web sites (www.atimes.com). The Group, made up of more than 1100 employees across Asia has particular operational strength and expertise in the Thailand, Indo-China, and Greater China media markets and is renowned, both in Thailand and abroad, for the quality and professionalism of its investigative research, reporting, and news analysis.
This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com
For further information please call
Kith and Kin
Ms.Janya Nukoolkij
T. 02 663 — 3226 # 65 or 09 - 814 - 8941 End.