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The Weekly Pictorial newspaper, printed in red lettering, was first published on newsstands in…

The headline that day was “Five Fatalities on New Year’s Day,” along with other local and social news, focusing less on politics than other publications of the time. As a result, only seven copies of that “Khao Phap” newspaper were returned out of a print run of 3,000. This marked a positive start, giving the founder an idea about readers’ news consumption preferences, a principle he continues to follow to this day.

In its early days, “Khaophap Weekly” was edited by Lert Asawes, printed and distributed by Kamphol Wacharapol, and funded by Wasan Chusakul. The target audience at that time consisted of young people and ordinary citizens, as the content primarily focused on social issues and local news relevant to the majority. This differed from the target audience of the other 7-8 weekly newspapers, which focused on political news. This differentiating factor or “strength” was a key factor that allowed “Khaophap Weekly” to maintain its market presence and retain its readership.

Once the newspaper gained popularity and became well-received by readers, Kamphol Wacharapol, as its main founder, took foresight and began considering increasing its publication frequency from weekly to every three days. This resulted in a faster and more significant increase in the company’s revenue. A year later, around mid-1952, “Khaophap” (Three-Day Photo Newspaper) eventually became “Khaophap” (Daily Photo Newspaper), with Utthaporn Pholakul as editor. During this era, “Khaophap” remained popular and continued to expose social issues until its closure on October 20, 1958, by the coup d’état led by Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, who seized power decisively from the government.