AsiaLIFE

When initial reports surfaced that the Phnom Penh Post’s owner and editor-in-chief, Michael Hayes, had sold the Post to a consortium led by the man who founded the Myanmar Times, the city’s rumourmongers spread the word that Michael had sold out. The paper was losing its independent voice, they said. Several months down the line, the new owners have delivered on their promise to produce a quality, daily tabloid newspaper, with Michael Hayes still the editor-in-chief. However, the man charged with ensuring the paper maintains its reputation for quality news reporting is another Michel, this time French, whose knowledge of publishing in the region dates back to 1994.

At Home in Hanoi

Michel’s first encounter with publishing was in Hanoi, where he helped create the electronic publishing department of the Vietnam Investment Review, run by Ross Dunkley. Fourteen years later Ross was to become his business partner, and publisher, at the Post.The success of this venture persuaded Michel to launch his own software company. Unfortunately he was ahead of his time. “Originally I wanted to publish more digital content on CD-ROM and on the emerging web, but this business model turned out to be more romantic than rational,” he explains. “I almost went bust in ‘98, in the middle of the Asian financial crisis.”

A short sojourn in Europe, where he took an MBA at Insead before consulting for a large IT firm in London, persuaded Michel that Europe was no longer his home. “I realised that I had taken a very wrong turn,” he says. “I had obviously become addicted to Asian chaos and I was showing some very severe withdrawal symptoms in this structured London work environment.” So he quit his job, despite the lucrative salary.

Taking Over the Post

The opportunity to take over the reins at the Post came after he met up again with Ross Dunkley, who by this time was running the Myanmar Times. The pair discussed the possibilities of creating a newspaper in an emerging market. “I remember we talked seriously about Afghanistan for a while,” he says. “But then Cambodia came into the picture, with this intriguing icon of the Asian press – The Phnom Penh Post.” Michel immediately saw the promise of such an acquisition. “When you are looking at buying a business, you are looking for qualities, but more importantly you are looking for weaknesses that you can fix,” he explains. “In this case we had a very good newspaper, located on a fast growing advertising market, but with a very wrong commercial format.” He specifically refers to the paper’s fortnightly publishing cycle. “This newspaper gleamed like a sleeping beauty with a lot of unrealised potential.”

Teething Problems

The pair’s greatest challenge lay in moving from fortnightly to daily publishing – from 50 to 500 pages each month. In addition to recruiting new staff, Michel had to import new presses, suitable for daily printing. Inevitably there were delays and teething problems, but on Aug. 8 the first issue of the new Post hit the newspaper stalls. “Our daily issue number one will probably remain in the pantheon of the worst print jobs in newspaper history,” Michel concedes. “But after a few very long nights at he printing house, our printing team finally got familiar with the intricacies of their new toys and a week later our colour registration was much better.”

Michel appreciates the understanding nature of the Post’s readers. “In general I found that our readers have been very gentle and forgiving of some of the shortcomings and rough edges of our first issues,” he says. Not that the Frenchman is getting complacent. He is well aware that the new owners of the Post are going through a honeymoon period. Future plans include “beefing up the business section,” as well as focusing on regional news, lifestyle and community content, and sport. The internet is also an important area to be developed. “It is now refreshed everyday and some of the content we are posting is web exclusive,” he says.

Phnom Penh: Home from Home

Following his failed attempt to re-adapt to Europe, Phnom Penh feels like home – “just that right level of chaos.” However, the transition to Phnom Penh has been far from plain sailing. He has become an Air Asia commuter, with his wife and three kids living in Bangkok. “I dragged my kids through four different school in four different countries in four years,” he says. “When we returned to Bangkok, I knew that I could no longer hijack their social life any more.”

So, despite the ease with which Michel has assimilated into a Phnom Penh expat’s life – The Shop for breakfast, Metro for lunch and Talkin after work – Michel looks forward to escaping at the end of a tiring working week. “I enjoy going to the multiplex cinema with my kids in Bangkok over the weekend,” he says. Maybe this time Michel has got the balance just about right.