Thai media festival sparks hope in turbulent journalism environment

Zahra is a freelance journalist with an emphasis on health and works as a business feature writer at SCG Media

In my six years as a journalist, I’ve attended a lot of conferences. My role, always the same: listen to the insights of as many speakers as I could then return to the newsroom and turn my hastily scrawled notes into articles for my readers.

Despite all of those events, it has been a long time since I attended a conference about my own industry. So, to receive the opportunity to attend Splice Beta, all about journalism and media, was too good to be true.

When the media industry here in Aotearoa has seen so much turmoil with job losses and newsroom closures throughout 2024, the best way I can describe Beta is as a breath of fresh air.

Zahra: "...the best way I can describe Beta is as a breath of fresh air."

At the start of November, four of us Kiwis started our trek over to Chiang Mai, Thailand. The adventure began with an overnight stay in Hong Kong, with dim sum for dinner, before arriving at our destination a little before mid-day.

We quickly oriented ourselves with a very cool coffee shop that would become our local over the next few days followed by lunch at Ginger Farm, a nearby restaurant that we only realised after was a Michelin joint.

A food tour that night saw us traverse across Chiang Mai, with a guide leading us through a whirlwind of vibrant night markets and fresh, flavourful dishes food.

Most mornings, I explored the city on foot, running up to Chiang Mai University’s beautiful campus and reservoir. There was no shortage of people out and about, enjoying the milder temperatures before the sun rose.

Splice Beta brought together journalists from throughout the Asia-Pacific region (Photo: ANT / Instagram @beyonddfilm)

Beta kicked off on Tuesday, held at the university’s Faculty of Mass Communications building. This year’s theme was centred on hospitality.

As conference organisers and Splice co-founders Rishad Patel and Alan Soon said in their opening address, “if you work in the media industry, you’re in the hospitality business”.

 They encouraged us to think about our audience and how can we get to know them, so we can serve them best. After all, you can’t serve people you don’t know, said Soon.

Every element of the conference fit within the theme, from the volunteers (communication students from the university) in tshirts with ‘chef’ on the back, to the conference bags that included chopsticks and a programme that looked like a Chinese takeaway menu.

True to any good menu, it spoiled you for choice with the range of sessions on offer and made it extremely hard to pick what you wanted.

Our group tried a bit of everything, making sure to split up where we could and then reconvene to share our learnings afterwards – over the most delicious snacks and Burmese tea up on the mezzanine floor.

Splice co-founders Rishad Patel and Alan Soon (Photo: ANT / Instagram @beyonddfilm)

I loved hearing from Xin Feng, founder of Beijing SourceEngine Technology, who talked about how she built a journalism business without calling it journalism; Yaling Jiang who shared how she started a newsletter powered by frustration; Vandara Sin and Bank Vath from Impact Hub Phnom Penh who create public interest content with creators and journalists; and Priti Salian on the importance of making your social posts inclusive.

 It’s pretty inspiring the way Patel and Soon successfully bring the industry together from all over the world - Cambodia, Malaysia, China, Fiji, South Africa and Italy.

 In the opening session, the two of them acknowledged those present from Myanmar and the current brutal military regime the country, whose border is just a five hour drive away, lives under.

They also explain the way they’ve crafted Beta to reflect their commitment to gender balance, where 53.3% of delegates identify as females and that the conference is also proudly “manel-free”.

“These numbers are not a coincidence, they are designed like this with pride. Hold us accountable,” says Patel.

(Photo: ANT / Instagram @beyonddfilm)

One of Beta’s points of difference is its clinics: a 45 minute session with an industry leader. To get that much one-on-one time with someone at the top of your field feels extraordinary and every year these get booked out immediately.

Somehow the universe was on my side, and I was able to nab two clinics, one with Feng, and the other with Mili Semlani, who manages the Splice Slack (cloud-based team communication platform) community. I am so thankful for their time and expertise.

I don’t think I have ever been to an event that was as friendly, open and accessible as Beta.

You couldn’t walk through the venue without being stopped for a chat by someone who was genuinely interested in hearing about your work, your passions, and where you’re from.

The long lunch breaks have been specifically programmed in to allow people time to network as well as catch up with any presenters they may have missed.

Zahra: "I don’t think I have ever been to an event that was as friendly, open and accessible as Beta."(Photo: ANT / Instagram @beyonddfilm)

In between conference sessions, we managed to fit in time to visit Wat Chiang Man, the oldest temple in the city, ride in a tuk tuk, and somehow end up at two more Michelin restaurants along the way.

The three day event closed with a quiz, a group photo and then many hugs and tears as goodbyes were said.

In a week that also included the stress of the US election, Beta was a shining light - a little bubble for the media industry to comiserate, but most of all to inspire each other – and I know I definitely left Chiang Mai with a lot more hope than I arrived with.

• Banner image credit: ANT / Instagram @beyonddfilm

The Foundation's Media Programme helps New Zealand journalists cover stories that shed light on Asia and on New Zealand’s ties to the region.