มิตรภาพ อุดมการณ์ และการขูดรีด: การจ้างงานฟรีแลนซ์ ในสื่อทางเลือกออนไลน์

Abstract

In 2014, the media industry faced significant layoffs when the "digital TV bubble burst," leading to a reduction in the number of employees. The traditional media industry shifted to an online format, increasingly hiring unstable labor, particularly freelancers. Concurrently, the number of online alternative media outlets grew during the political era of dictatorship post-2014. This period saw the rise of individuals eager to address political, social, and democratic issues, taking on roles as both media creators and freelancers in online alternative media. These roles are intertwined with shared emotions and ideologies, yet existing labor laws inadequately protect this new class of workers. This research aims to explore the employment conditions and creative ownership rights of freelancers through their experiences in the online alternative media sector. Additionally, it examines employment practices and perspectives on creative ownership rights from the viewpoint of online alternative media entrepreneurs. The study utilizes document-based research, analyzing the evolution of labor laws over different eras, and conducts interviews with freelancers and online alternative media entrepreneurs to understand the nature of employment and perceptions of creative ownership. A review of Thai labor laws reveals that they have evolved in response to changing economic, social, and political contexts. Consequently, current labor laws fail to protect the new types of labor that have emerged. Interviews with eight freelancers in online alternative media reveal that employment often involves verbal agreements without written contracts, creating ambiguity and uncertainty regarding compensation and creative ownership rights. This leads to varied perspectives and awareness among freelancers concerning their rights to their creative works. Further interviews with nine online alternative media entrepreneurs, managing both for-profit and non-profit outlets, indicate that freelance employment is largely based on social networks, trust, capabilities, and shared ideologies. This significantly influences the employment model. Both types of media outlets offer similar compensation standards to freelancers, with verbal contracts and no written agreements, resulting in unclear creative ownership rights. This ambiguity affects the protection of creative works and leads to differing understandings of copyright issues. This research found that the freelance employment model in online alternative media highlights a complex relationship between freelancers and entrepreneurs, one that transcends the specifications of standard employment contracts. This relationship is deeply rooted in "friendship and ideology," subtly masking "exploitation" and directly impacting the feasibility of enforcing legal or contractual employment agreements effectively.