PHUKET is growing rapidly to the point where the island has three regular, frequent publications in English as well as several television and radio options for news and entertainment.

Here's Phuketwan MEDIAWATCH, 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.

NEWSFRONT Latest: Will the PM and the PPP still be in charge next week? Not according the BBC's man in Bangkok, who has told viewers it will be a matter of days before the Government falls. Will what follows be any better? How much longer will Thai politics cause consternation among onlookers? We hope the answers are ''Yes'' and ''Not long.'' On Phuket, the new Governor will be in his office on Monday. We believe Governor Niran says goodbye and flies out today. We wish him well.

The Phuket Gazette: (Weekly newspaper. Price 25 baht, 48 pages with events calendar insert) This week's front page is again newsy, with three articles. PAD protest damps National Police Day (we think that was just coincidental. The protest was about police violence in Bangkok) Phuket Airport celebrates 20th year, and War on Dengue, which is more a promotion for last week's international conference on Phuket than news from it. Inside Story, once a source of in-depth issues coverage, for the second week running carries the nice, pleasant comment of visitors (this time tour agents and journalists) here on nice, pleasant free holidays. News and surprises are nicer. On a much more informative Editorial and Letters page, almost every correspondent makes lively reading. A vegan raises questions about the noise and the food at the Vegetarian Festival, Rawai police are ''no help at all,'' tipping in Thailand, and whether the destruction of Kamala's beach kiosks should be repeated at Bang Tao. The First Person column provides one of the island's most sensible politicians, Orborjor president Paiboon Upatising, with a platform for some of his views. He sees water, the island's budget and education as the critical issues. The Gazette's editorial rails against death on the road, an extremely worthy topic. We hope the Gazette pursues a campaign to reduce the number of deaths and injuries. However, it has been many months since the local newspaper of record regularly told us how many people, especially the young, die on roads each month. From memory, the figure usually fluctuates between 15 and 26 each month, an alarming number, and each one unnecessary. Regular reports are a salutary reminder to us all of the cost in lives and injuries to society, and a means of educating others to drive safely. If the Gazette is serious about crusading for safer roads, those monthly road toll reports should start to reappear. We hope advertisers approve. But there is no point in condemning ''notorious statistics'' unless readers are given some.

The Phuket Post: (20 baht. We can't tell you how many pages are in this issue because the Internet doesn't tell us) Here's a bonus for Post readers this week. Virtually all the prime content from the new issue has been placed online. Those who are interested can be informed without paying for the privilege. The strategy behind this generosity is not clear, and we wonder whether advertisers in the print version have approved this practice. At any rate, we were saved the time and expense in having to go looking for a print copy. The cover is about High Season Happenings, a list of coming events. The Post, like the Gazette, also wastes space this week on the predictably favorable comments of people (diplomats/tour operators/junketting journalists) who have been given free trips to Phuket. What are they going to say? That they hate the place? One newsier piece does, however, provide the informed opinion that visitors are expected to continue to take Phuket holidays, but possibly reduce the length of their stay. Property Plus offers yet more alliteration (Speeding to Serenity) over coverage of the Formula 1 champ's new Phuket digs.

Media Must-Reads: The latest Economist carries a piece online that deals directly with some of the political issues that go without much coverage in Thailand, for good reason. We wish we could tell you more, but we can't. Time magazine journalist Hannah Beech strikes a spurious comparison between buying property on Phuket and Bali. Given that she bought on Bali, some of her conclusions are not unexpected. ''There's a strange situation in Phuket,'' she is told by Risinee Sarikaputra, head of research for property consultant Colliers International in Thailand. ''You have low-end residential units that are bought by Thais, and you have luxury units that are bought by foreigners. But there's no real middle-class level. It's either low or high.'' Errr . . . Could it be perhaps that most ambitious Thais remain relatively poor while most foreign buyers are rich? Beech, who puts down Phuket's harder-to-find culture, writes that on the Thai island ''the vacation market is dominated by condominiums or villa complexes managed by luxury hoteliers. Such management services come at a premium -- these properties cost about 30 percent more than similar nonbranded villas -- but you don't have to worry about whether the gardener is feuding with the cook.'' Oh yeah? That's news to me, and many others.

Innovation of the Week: The Phuketwan photo albums are new this week on most articles, and well worth checking out. We give you the complete picture now.

Island IT: Qantas plans to censor passengers' laptop Internet sites when online coverage arrives with its A380s, but Melbourne Airport body scanners will be a ''virtual strip search,'' according to critics of the experimental machines. The scanner uses a low energy X-ray to reveal any objects, metal or otherwise, under a person's clothing, including body features. The new scanners will be tested at Melbourne Airport alongside baggage X-ray machines that can detect explosives in luggage. The trial runs until the end of November.

Coming Events: The annual IBAP fair is on at Central Festival from October 23-26. October 23 is listed as a public holiday. No doubt some people will stretch the break on Thursday into a long weekend.

Last Words: For those suffering because of the credit crunch, we can hardly do better than offer some advice from Warren Buffett, a man with a good surname for the times who seldom drops more than a few billion on any one day. He wrote in the New York Times: ''A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors . . . ''I'll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank building and then advertised: ''Put your mouth where your money was.'' Today my money and my mouth both say equities.''



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 or policy.