That's Nice to Print"
BANGKOK — In the sweltering monsoon heat of July 1864, the rhythmic clatter of a manual printing press signaled a new era for the Kingdom of Siam. The Siam Times had arrived, marking the birth of English-language journalism in a nation rapidly modernizing under the gaze of the West. Its founder, John Hassett Chandler, was a figure of significant influence—a United States consul and tutor to King Chulalongkorn who positioned his broadsheet as a crucial bridge between a changing Thailand and the outside world.
The publication’s influence, however, was short-lived. By December 1865, Mr. Chandler found himself entangled in a bitter consular court battle involving the importation of steam machinery. In a final, poignant dispatch to The Straits Times on December 4 of that year, he announced a temporary suspension of his operations. He expressed a fervent hope to return with a revitalized paper once his legal affairs were resolved. That return would take more than sixteen decades to materialize, leaving the paper as little more than a yellowed footnote in the archives of Southeast Asian media history.
Now, that century-and-a-half-long silence has finally been broken. The Siam Times has been resurrected, though not on the ink-stained sheets of Mr. Chandler’s day. Reimagined as a digital-first production platform, the new iteration is the work of Montri Kiatphaophan, the director of a regional environment and pollution control office. What began as a personal project to develop modern communication tools transformed into a historical restoration when Dr. Kiatphaophan discovered the connection to the defunct 19th-century enterprise and secured the trademark for the historic name.
This modern revival seeks to marry the authoritative weight of its past with the existential challenges of the present. By reclaiming the masthead, the project effectively fulfills Mr. Chandler’s 160-year-old promise. Today, instead of reporting on the arrival of steamships or the intricacies of the royal court, the platform focuses its lens on environmental advocacy and sustainable development. It aims to provide local Thai communities with a global platform in an era defined by a fragile climate, ensuring that a voice from the 1860s finds its true purpose in the 2020s.