Three media associations have issued a statement expressing concern for the safety of journalists, photographers, and media personnel reporting on the situation at the Thai-Cambodian border. They advise editorial teams to conduct comprehensive assessments of the situation.
At 16:00 on 14 Dec 2025 GMT+7, the Thai Journalists Association, the Thai Broadcast Journalists Association, and the Online News Producers Association released a statement expressing concern for the safety of journalists, photographers, and all media personnel reporting on the situation along the Thai-Cambodian border, while commending their strong commitment to providing useful information to the public amid a sensitive context.
Prioritizing safety first.
To ensure the utmost safety of media personnel, the professional media organizations offer the following recommendations.
These guidelines are intended for field journalists and editorial teams.
1. Comprehensive situation assessment before assigning tasks: Editorial teams and supervisors are urged to thoroughly review and assess the overall situation at all times.
This should be done continuously and from multiple perspectives. They should rely on information from multiple credible news sources.
This helps analyze the necessity of sending reporting teams into risky areas. Field reporters may see only specific parts of the situation, whereas policy decisions should consider the broader overall picture.
2. Prioritize safe areas first. Consider the welfare of field journalists. In cases where reporters are assigned to risky areas or zones where safety may be compromised due to ongoing clashes and heavy weapon use,
if it is necessary to report from such locations, it is recommended to use data, images, or video clips from official agencies or trusted authorities as an alternative to entering the area personally, to reduce risks and potential losses to media personnel.
Verify images before publication.
At the same time, amid this security situation, all field workers and editors are urged to prioritize verifying news and images related to military locations and safe zones for civilians before publication, considering security reasons. The safety of media personnel is paramount alongside press freedom, which must be exercised responsibly, carefully, and in accordance with journalistic ethics.
