NEWS is what somebody somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising. Lord Northcliffe British publisher 1865-1922

PHUKET: A hard-working Phuketwan reporter arrived a little late to the Phuket Governor's regular media meet-and-greet yesterday.

The gist of the conversation, she rapidly gathered, was a request to the governor to see whether Phuket's news sources couldn't perhaps find a bit more positive ''news'' to publish.

Profiles of resorting marketing CSR people, for example, could be considered to provide a balance of good ''news.''

Given the usual reticence of the rest of the Phuket media to speak out on this kind of issue, the Phuketwan journalist found herself as advocate in response.

She must have made a reasonable case. After the meeting, representatives from the Marriott, Radisson and Absolute groups gave her their business cards.

The issue, though, remains an important one. In the context of yesterday's meeting, several points should be made.

The first and most important point is that the governor has no control over the Phuket media. He certainly does his best to offer them direction from time to time.

And he is, quite rightly, less than pleased when the media gets something wrong. But he recognises that Phuket journalists have a distinct and separate role to play in covering events on Phuket.

Marketing people at resorts on holiday islands and in most other places are sales people with fancy titles. Some of them have the breadth of vision to understand the media and its role.

Others do not. Nearly all of the debates Phuketwan journalists have had over coverage of events on Phuket have not been with the police, or the military, or administration officials, or governors.

The calls we get in protest are nearly all from resort marketing people. (Many of them, it has to be said in fairness, are also understanding and full of praise.)

It seems timely to make the point once again that every article Phuketwan carries is positive for Phuket.

Our aim is to improve Phuket and make it the best holiday destination in the world. Like all resort marketing staff, we are keen to see the island progress and prosper.

Unlike many marketing people, our journalists are not confined to any particular luxury resort. They are out all over the island every day, seeing Phuket not just at its best, but also at its worst.

We confront and fully absorb the issues that many of the island's resort marketing people simply do not see, or choose to not see.

There remain two options for us, and for them: join the growing band of people who want the problems fixed, or try to sweep them under the carpet.

It's that simple. But please bear in mind that Phuketwan is not prepared to ''sell'' a shonky, wonky product until all of its problems are fixed.

And we continue to welcome suggested contributions of good ''news'' from all Phuket resorts.