The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT; ) was founded in 1957 in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Patpong Patpong (, , ) is an entertainment district in Bangkok's Bang Rak District, Thailand, catering mainly, though not exclusively, to foreign tourists and expatriates. Patpong is internationally known as a red light district at the heart of Bangkok's ...

area. It is considered the oldest and largest

press club A press club is an organization for journalists and others who are professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press Club ...

in Southeast Asia. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam were mostly inaccessible for foreign journalists, leading to FCCT becoming a regional hub for journalism. Today, the FCCT hosts exhibitions for

photojournalism Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

and contemporary arts. The club's current location is the Maneeya Center Building, on

Phloen Chit Road Phloen Chit Road (, also spelled Ploenchit, ) is a major road in central Bangkok. Located entirely within Lumphini Subdistrict of Pathum Wan District, it runs a short distance of between Ratchaprasong Intersection and the Maenam railway branc ...

Pathum Wan District Pathum Wan (, ) is one of the Districts of Bangkok, fifty districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. It lies just beyond the old city boundary of Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem and was a rural area on the eastern outskirts of the city when royal vill ...

. Elaine Kurtenbach, Asia business editor for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, serves as the club's president.

History

20th century

The FCCT's informal origins began in the mid-1950s, when groups of foreign media correspondents gathered at Mizu’s Kitchen on Patpong Road. Original members included principal founder, Jorges Orgibet, who worked in Thailand for the US Office of War Information and opened the

US Information Service The United States Information Agency (USIA) was a United States government agency devoted to propaganda which operated from 1953 to 1999. Previously existing United States Information Service (USIS) posts operating out of U.S. embassies wor ...

(USIS) office in Bangkok.

21st century

On 2 September 2014, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights cancelled a planned briefing on at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club under pressure from the

National Council for Peace and Order The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO; ; ; abbreviated (; )) was the military junta that ruled Thailand from its coup d'état on 22 May 2014 to 16 July 2019. On 20 May 2014, the military declared martial law nationwide in an attempt to ...

, Thailand's ruling military junta. In December 2015,

United States Ambassador to Thailand This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Thailand. Thailand has had continuous bilateral relations with the United States since 1882. Relations were interrupted during World War II when Bangkok was occupied by Japanese forces. Norm ...

Glyn T. Davies was investigated for violating Thailand's lèse-majesté laws while speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club on 25 November 2015. Davies gave a speech praising the US-Thailand relationship, and expressed concern about lengthy prison sentences given by military courts to Thai civilians. Davies, who was protected under diplomatic immunity, was not charged with a crime.

References

{{Reflist

External links

FCCT Home Page
Foreign correspondents' clubs Journalism in Thailand Organizations based in Thailand