Although mainstream media was the major place to learn about the coup for many people, it was not really the first source. Many people heard about the coup from personal contact instead. Consider the following message of AbsoluteInsider3, indicating that, even though she learned about the coup from the media, it was her contacts who woke her up to check the news.
i saw a tank.
it’s had a coup in thailand 19 sep 06. in that day i sleep early(around 21.00) but announcement of coupe is around 10.00. :p but i don’t miss that because a lot of people call me to tell me open a television and see it. then i open a nationchannel (all channel is not boardcast) i watch a television until midnight and go to sleep.
(AbsoluteInsider3 - Blog)
For OutsiderIn2, even though he witnessed the signs of the coup on television as mentioned earlier, the coup was confirmed by words from his friend who was in the controlled area.
I also had a friend later call me from the Silom area [one of the commercial districts in Bangkok] saying soldiers were telling everyone to go home and shutting the bars. Some business contacts he was meeting with at the time received a call from their headquarters in the U.S. telling them to collect their possessions at their hotel and go directly to airport and take the next flight to flee the country.
(OutsiderIn2 - Interview)
The dissemination of information seems to be primarily through personal contact such as from family members, friends, and colleagues who witnessed the situation around Bangkok and its vicinity. These communications were conducted through different plat- forms, for example, mobile phone, email, web forums, and even face to face. Here are some examples of how people first heard about the coup from others.
I first heard about the coup the evening when it occurred. I was at home with my partner (now husband). We had eaten dinner and returned home about 8:00. [My Thai partner] had heard many rumors floating around during the day about a likely coup and shortly after dinner he started receiving phone calls and text messages from various people. The first was a customer of his who is well-positioned and probably heard about the coup earlier than other people.
(OutsiderIn4 - Interview)
I and Paula had no idea what was happening on the street as well. We were about to start our quiet time in my room when my colleague called and in- formed me about the revolution. Both of us rushed to downstairs and turned on the TV just to find that every government channels were displaying the story of King Bhumiphol on the screen. We looked at each other eyes and knew that it was the sign of something very unusual was going on!!!
(InsiderOut1 - Blog)
I was in my apartment, surfing the Internet. I visited a webboard that I regularly visit to talk to my friends. Then I saw a thread informing that there was a coup. ...
It was an underground bittorrent website which I want to reserve its name.... (AbsoluteInsider3 - Interview)
‘Just heard on the news. Military coup in Thailand to overthrow president. Taken over bangkok while the president was overseas. They’ve impossed mar- tial law.’
I received this msg at 8:55am. Thanks to [his friend’s name]..he woke me up! haha
of the year! =)
(AbsoluteOutsider9 - Blog)
Some people benefited from knowing someone who was perceived to be a very insider source. For instance, AbsoluteInsider4, who worked at a university in the vicinity of Bangkok, told how she heard about the coup from an interview. The fact that she was working at a site that could potentially be a target spot for seizure during the coup did not let her know about the coup earlier. Instead, her colleague’s friend, who worked at a TV station in Bangkok, told her about the early signs of the coup.
ตอนทำงานเวลาประมาณ 20.00 น. มีเพื่อน [ของเพื่อนร่วมงาน] ที่ทำงานอยู่ที่สถานีโทรทัศน์ ช่อง 11 โทรมาบอกว่าจะมีการปฏิวัติในคืนนี้ ในกรุงเทพฯ มีรถถังวิ่งเต็มไปหมด พอเลิก งาน 21.00 น. ก็กลับหอพัก... ห้อง [เพื่อนร่วมงาน] มีโทรทัศน์ พอเวลาประมาณ 22.00 น. [เพื่อนร่วมงาน] ก็มาเคาะห้องบอกว่าให้รีบเก็บของออกจากมหาวิทยาลัย เพราะว่ามีการ ปฏิวัติแล้ว โทรทัศน์มีการหยุดถ่ายทอดรายการเรียบร้อยแล้ว (เพราะทหารได้ยึดสถานีโทรทัศน์ ทุกสถานีแล้ว )
[Around 8:00PM while I was working, one of [my colleague]’s friend who worked at Channel 11 called and told us that there would be a coup tonight in Bangkok. There were a lot of tanks running around. After 9:00PM, I went back to my room in the dorm after I finished my work. [My colleague] has a TV set. Around 10:00PM, my colleague knocked the door and told me to pack my belongings because there was a coup. TV stations ceased their operations (because the military already seized all TV stations.)]
(AbsoluteInsider4 - Interview)
Similar to AbsoluteInsider4, a political scientist, AbsoluteInsider5, also heard about the coup from a very insider source whose identity should not be identified.
ทราบล่วงหน้าก่อน คือทราบตอนเย็น ก่อนที่ที่มีการให้ ‘‘โปรดฟังอีกครั้ง’’ ทาง TV ตอน กลางคืน ตอนนั้นอยู่บ้าน ดูข่าวตามปรกติ แหล่งข่าวที่บอกเราไม่ต้องการระบุชื่อ
[I heard about it earlier which was around that evening - before what they announced “Please listen again” on the TV at night. I was at home, just watching the news. The source who told me did not want to be identified.] (AbsoluteInsider5 - Interview)
People reactions to the coup were various based on how, when, and where they first exposed to the coup. This section higlights the three major scenarios where the exposure
occurred including self exploratory, media report, and interpersonal communication. After they heard about the coup, people tended to begin actively seeking and sharing information in order to resolve the puzzle about the situation that they had in mind.