80 Years of the Public Relations Department of Thailand

(26/04/2013)

The Public Relations Department of Thailand, known in short as PRD, is scheduled to celebrate its 80th anniversary on 2-3 May 2013.

Through the passage of time, PRD, as the major agency in public relations of the Thai government, has adjusted its roles, philosophy, and structure in accordance with the evolving situation of the country.

The vision today is that PRD is aiming to become a major organization in ASEAN, excelling in professional public relations and mass communication, to promote development, security, culture, and the favorable image of the country.

Established on 3 May 1933, following the change of Thailand’s administrative system from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy in 1932, PRD was formerly called the Publicity Division, which was later upgraded to the Publicity Office and then the Publicity Department. The name was changed to the Public Relations Department in 1952.

PRD is now under the supervision of the Office of the Prime Minister. Its organizational structure is divided into central administration and regional administration. The central administration consists of division-level agencies, office-level agencies, and Public Relations Offices, Regions 1-8. The regional administration comprises provincial public relations offices in 76 provinces. There are currently 3,329 PRD officials and permanent and temporary employees. The headquarters is located on Soi Areesamphan, Phahonyothin Road, in Bangkok.

PRD has a mission to formulate media production policies and plans and organize various activities in order to promote better understanding of the Thai government’s major policies and strategies in the world community.

As a media organization, PRD uses its radio and television networks and internet links, as well as interpersonal media in cooperation with other media channels to disseminate news and information, so that diverse target groups will have alternative sources of information with which to improve their lives and develop their communities. Moreover, it also promotes the process of life-long, constructive learning.

PRD now operates 150 radio frequencies, 88 of which are on FM, 57 on AM, and five on shortwave. As for television, it operates 53 frequencies, 32 of which are VHF band, 18 UHF band, and three MMDS band. Following the enforcement of the 2010 Frequency Allocation Act and Telecommunications Business Act and the establishment of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, PRD no longer serves as a broadcasting regulator but retains its status as a broadcasting operator. It is also in the process of switching from analog to digital television broadcasting services.

Through its Radio Thailand, NBT TV, and websites, PRD is striving to develop state public relations management and mass communications to ensure that they are of high quality and standards, with good governance, in response to the demands of the public sector and the people.