Communication for Protesting and Promoting the Developing Projects along Chao Phraya River

Abstract

        The objective of the study was to analyze the content, forms, channels and communication strategies used for opposing and supporting the development of the area along the Chao Phraya River. This research is qualitative research conducted using the textual analysis of the data which were gathered through in-depth interviews of the four informants from both parties, non-participation observations and documented sources covering online communications and other communication activities.

        The results of the study showed that communication for opposition to the project has procedures and forms of communication that enhance public perception and raise the strength of expression as follows: 1) Communication through Facebook fan page “Friends of the Rivers”. 2) establishing a people's network, 3) communication based on academic approaches, 4) community communication, 5) cultural communication, 6) public listing campaign through change.org and 7) dissemination of information using legal processes. The communication section to support the Chao Phraya River Development Project employs communication strategies in the form of defense and response to opposition attacks as follows: 1) press conference on project progress, 2) interview, 3) communication via Facebook fan page "Chao Phraya For All", and 4) presentation of documentary-style video clips.