PHUKET is growing rapidly and it has three regular, frequent publications in English as well as several television and radio options for news and entertainment.

Here's a lively take on what's happening that is aimed at keeping island residents, visitors, would-be holidaymakers and advertisers in touch with Phuket's growing information world.

The Phuket Gazette: (Weekly newspaper. Price 25 baht, 48 pages with events calendar insert) The main Page One headline is 'Rawai bandit nabbed', which accepts that the 'confession' to police by the man in the photograph is proof of guilt and even, as the Page Three lead heading indicates, possibly a sign that Rawai's 'reign of terror' may be over now that he has been arrested. The editorial in this issue, 'Getting tourism back on track,' makes a case for the expat resident as some kind of talisman for tourism. That's odd. We though the beaches, the coral reefs and good old Thai hospitality probably had a little to do with it. At least the cartoon on the same page mocks the central issue that crimes against expats are somehow more important than crimes against Thais. 'Why do farang look down on Thais?' asks one writer in the Letters column below. It's a good question. ''Farang are good when they are tourists but turn to be bad when they try living here,'' the writer concludes. Or perhaps it's only a problem because the expat sense of self-importance is constantly stroked and pampered by the farang media. It would be nice to have a reality check every so often: all crime on Phuket is unacceptable, whether against foreigners or Thais. And no, expats are not more important. Inside Story this issue deals with 'Phuket Airport: a critical analysis.' First Person tells of a Soi Dog Foundation member's problem finding treatment for a poisoned pet.

The Phuket Post: (Fortnightly magazine. Price 20 baht, 24 pages with eight-page Property Plus supplement) Issue No. 90 deals with The Fringe Festival of performing arts as the cover story. On Page Three, the main report deals with the latest plan to promote Phuket after the August airport blockade. The lead local brief reveals one piece of news: ''Traffic jams have continued even after the installation of traffic lights at Chalong Circle.'' Indeed, today the circle seemed to be making a comeback. If the traffic lights do eventually take over, will residents still call it Chalong Circle? We suspect so. The Fashion Cafe is favorably reviewed, as you'd expect an advertiser to be. (''I don't remember eating cheesecake like it before.'') The Bleu Blanc Grill is apparently sailing on sunset cruises from Chalong at 5pm each Wednesday, a sure sign, we hope, that high season is on the way.

Innovation of the Week: At the Photokina 2008 exhibition in Germany, the best in photographic innovations are usually on display. This year a lot of attention was focussed on the Panasonic Lumix G1, which has no mirror reflex. All visual feedback comes via its sensor, which is placed directly behind the lens. This means it can be a lot more compact. It is half the size and weight of the new Canon 5D Mk II. Perhaps the era of photographers with bad backs is over.

Also getting lots of kudos at Photokina 2008 was Adobe Photoshop CS4. In the new edition of Photoshop, Adobe has concentrated on optimising workflow, with ''a new tab-based interface to keep things less cluttered.''

Island IT: According to Business Watch 2008, over the last five years, from a very low base, the estimated number of Internet users in Thailand has increased sixfold. ''ISPs also seem to be recovering from their earlier reputation for unreliable performance,'' Business Watch says. ''Now that the government has taken the first steps to fix the regulatory regime, with CAT being sidelined from the activities of the ISPs and the international Internet gateway market having been opened up, there should be increased opportunities for the development of the Internet in Thailand.'' And perhaps it's time for the local media to find something new to write about.



Declaration of interest: Big Island Media, Phuketwan's parent print company, has as small stake in Pulse Media, which produces The Phuket Post, but no influence on the Post's content.