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: Bangkok is likely to remain quiet this week in the leadup to Loy Kratong on November 12. On Monday, the new governor meets the Phuket media. Warships from Australia and India are also due to anchor.

The Phuket Gazette: (Weekly newspaper. Price 25 baht, 52 pages with events calendar insert) This week, the front-page Gazette report is headed 'Biologists in jellyfish alert.' This is probably the most important story since the 2007 plane crash, yet it has one of the smallest page one lead headings seen for years. Second article on the page is 'Big bell for big Buddha'. The rest of Phuket calls it the Big Buddha, but in the Gazette, it's just a big Buddha. Inside, the Gazette also looks different this week. The page tops now take an italic slant, the headings are smaller, and the photographs, at least on the news pages, are larger and more plentiful. Whether readers prefer more photos or more news used to be a constant debate in newspapers. Planned redesigns usually give a newspaper a fresh look and a sense of proportion. Main headings will be of a certain size, with subsidiary headings to scale, depending on length and importance. A redesign on the run usually produces a product that may have regular readers scratching their heads. A couple of headings in this week's Gazette even have fullstops. That's something they usually don't need. And numbers always pose a problem for journalists. The lead article's first paragraph mentions that 40 jellyfish have been collected. Then, in the second paragraph, the total suddenly increases to 56. Perhaps next issue, the future direction of the Gazette will become more obvious. More photographs, or more news? Traditionally, readers usually make their preference plain fairly quickly. Elsewhere, the dining review almost goes the whole 1500 words without mentioning the food. We think this was intentional. And an advertisement for restaurants at Laguna Phuket indicates, for the first time I can remember, that the big resort could actually use some local bums on seats. These are revolutionary times.

The Phuket Post: (Fortnightly magazine. Price: 20 baht, 24 pages plus eight-page Property Plus) The cover this issue is 'Encounter Phuket,' an interview with Lonely Planet author Adam Skolnick, plus bright, breezy excerpts from the new LP guide. Skolnick passed through Phuket so quickly he did not have time to count the wheels on the tuk-tuks (the guide maintains they have three) but the result is mostly accurate and attractive. Issue 92 of the Post is upbeat yet it also manages to report on the box jellyfish alarm and dengue fever, without scaring the tourists. There's also a full page ad offering 'Great new advertorial packages custom-made to suit your needs.' (An 'Advertorial' or 'Sponsored Editorial' label is the way that publishers alert readers to paid editorial content, so that it is always possible to distinguish the revenue-driving promotional waffle from the genuine unpaid journalism. In publishing, it is considered to be unethical and dishonest for advertisers to be able to buy editorial content, or perhaps even space on the cover, without readers being informed. That kind of outright deceit has destroyed the reputations of many publishers and advertisers. It's a simple extension of the rules of good business. Does a respectable brand tell customers the truth, every time, or does it resort to deceit and distortion? The principles of 'advertorial' coverage are clear: it makes everything black and white by removing the grey area. It protects the readers, and the honest advertisers. And by the way, it's a principle that in honest publishing also applies to free dinners for restaurant reviewers.) We look forward to seeing the 'Sponsored Editorial' label appear frequently this high season as the Post grows and prospers.

Innovation of the Week: From November 1, says the Bangkok Post, a Thai Air Asia guarantee will entitle passengers whose flights are delayed by more than two hours from the scheduled departure time to a voucher worth 1800 baht for Thai AirAsia tickets. Even bad weather is no excuse.

Coming Events: For those looking for an out-of-the-box evening tonight, The Holiday Inn is staging a magician's night to help the charity work of the Patong branch of Rotary. Levitation is assured. Give the Holiday Inn a call on 076 340608

The Property Report annual property industry awards are on tonight in Bangkok, with a full house of 550 onlookers. Organisers were giving nothing away in advance.Phuketwan will be interested to learn which island businesses score gongs, and will tell you as soon as we hear.

Memorable Media Moments: Miguel Ko, president of Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Asia/Pacific, noted at the first ITB Asia travel show in Singapore that the Asian sector is being affected by two significant forces - the growing financial crisis and the political instability in Thailand. Ko said that if internal issues could be resolved, it would help the Asian region recover more quickly than the European and North American sectors. And on 2009, The chairman of Accor Asia/Pacific, Michael Issenberg, was reported as saying: ''We shouldn't be afraid but we should be very concerned for at least a year. If you're not concerned - good luck.''



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.