{{Short description|Thai daily newspaper}} {{Infobox newspaper | name = Matichon | logo = Matichon Logo.png | image = Matichon, January 21, 2022.jpg | caption = Matichon newspaper cover, dated January 21, 2022 | type = Daily Newspaper | format = Print, online | owners = Matichon Public Company Limited ({{SET|MATI}}) | founded = 1978 | headquarters = Chatuchak, Bangkok | political_position = Center-left, Progressivism | language = Thai | website = https://www.matichon.co.th/ }} '''''Matichon''''' ({{langx|th|มติชน}} 'opinion of the people',<ref>{{cite news |title=Thailand harapkan sebuah China yg mantap |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/beritaharian19780809-1.2.4?qt=matichon&q=Matichon |work=Berita Harian (Singapore) |agency=AFP |date=9 August 1978 |language=ms |quote=Dia membuat penegasan itu dalam satu wawancara dengan akhbar harian berbahasa Thai "Matichon" (Pendapat Rakyat)}}</ref> also known as '''''Matichon Daily''''' to distinguish it from other related publications) is a major Thai-language national daily newspaper. It was founded by a group of progressive writers in 1978, when the country was emerging from the authoritarian government that followed the 6 October 1976 Massacre. ''Matichon'' positions itself as a "quality" upmarket newspaper, as opposed to the usually sensationalist mass-circulation papers. In 1997, it had a daily circulation of about 120,000. It carries a strong focus on politics, and was, along with ''Thai Rath'', among the country's most politically influential newspapers at the time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McCargo |first1=Duncan |title=Politics and the press in Thailand: media machinations |date=2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-203-99599-6}}</ref>
From the late 2000s, when successive political crises divided public opinion, ''Matichon'' has been criticized for harbouring a pro-Red Shirt bias. It has also been subject to controversies regarding its dismissal of editors, and a bribery investigation by the National Press Council of Thailand, for which the paper resigned from the council in protest. ''Matichon'' argued the investigation were irregular and that there was political interference in the council's activities.<ref>{{cite news |title="มติชน"กับคำถามคาใจ |url=https://www.posttoday.com/politic/report/138871 |accessdate=2 September 2018 |work=Post Today |date=20 February 2012 |language=th}}</ref>
The paper carries an online arm, '''Matichon Online''', which has a separate editorial board and publishes stories independently of the print edition.<ref>{{cite news |title=ซีรีส์ สื่อใหม่กับความขัดแย้งทางการเมือง ตอนที่ 2: ถ้าไม่เปิดพื้นที่ให้หลากหลาย สื่อก็จะไม่ทันความเปลี่ยนแปลงของสังคม |url=https://prachatai.com/journal/2010/09/31247 |accessdate=2 September 2018 |work=Prachatai |date=25 September 2010 |language=th}}</ref>
==Matichon Weekly== '''''Matichon Weekly''''' ({{lang|th|มติชนสุดสัปดาห์}}, lit. 'Weekend Matichon'), a sister publication of the newspaper, is a weekly Thai-language news magazine with a strong focus on politics. It was first published in 1980, and had been the most widely circulated news magazine of Thailand in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite book |title=The ASEAN Media Directory |date=1998 |publisher=Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung |editor1-last=Tan |editor1-first=Abby |editor2-last=Stehling |editor2-first=Thomas Bernd}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Matichon Group Category:Newspapers published in Thailand Category:Thai-language newspapers Category:Newspapers established in 1978 Category:1978 establishments in Thailand Category:Mass media in Bangkok Category:Chatuchak district