Warta Kota, The City Icon

(Published in July 2007 edition of ADOI magazine)

Its transformation drew controversy and criticism. But after eight years since its conception, Warta Kota is going on strong and establishes itself as the epitome of a city that never sleeps.


Noted actor/director Deddy Mizwar hops on a motorcycle taxi amid the hustle and bustle in the heart of Jakarta. He soon engages in a light-hearted and cheerful conversation on a series of urban issue with the driver, a perky character, before the two speed up, leaving a trace of laughter.
The writing on the TV screen is then read: Warta Kota, Nyambungnya Pas,Gayanya Jelas (Warta Kota, Connecting Well, Distinctive Style).
Switch to the radio, and yet another advertisement of Warta Kota daily emerges, using the native Jakartan (Betawi) culture, this time the song of legendary entertainer, the late Benyamin Suaib.
In the past two months or so, the daily newspaper which focuses on city coverage has been boosting its advertisements. Aside from the TV ad produced by Ideasphere ad agency and the radio commercial, the adapted TV ad are also apparent in a number of printed media, as well as banners on the street all over the city.
This has raised question of whether the trouble hitting printed media globally also impacts the city paper and creating financial crisis.
Warta Kota Chief Editor cum CEO cum General Manager, Dedy Pristiwanto, laughed off the accusation that the paper was going down the drain, unable to face harsh competition. On the contrary, he said, the paper was going on strong.
“People got it wrong. They think promotional effort should be pushed when a product is yet to be popular, or else when it starts to lose popularity. In this day and age, we can’t think like that anymore. Even when our product is on top of popularity, we need to keep promoting it,” said the 56 year-old veteran journalist.
The newspaper is now hitting 169,000 daily circulation. Quite a fantastic number for a publication that only covers the capital and Greater Jakarta, as many daily newspapers are struggling to reach even tens of thousand circulation amid harsh competition from TV, radio and the Internet.
Dedy assured that the circulation number was not a markup.
“The number does not come from us, but from the Australian-based Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC). They audit us every three months in a very strict and mind boggling process where we have to present every bit of document and data,” Dedy said, laughing.
“But this has resulted in a very accurate and reliable outcome, especially for advertisers. I think only Kompas and Warta Kota that use the ABC’s service. It’s not cheap, but for our credibility, money must not be a problem,” he added.
Image-wise, Warta Kota manages to create an impression of a non-violent city paper which not only caters people from the middle and lower bracket of the economy, but also caters middle and upper class who are looking for a city paper which does not exactly fit the criteria of ‘gutter press’ or ‘yellow paper’.
Tantri, 32, a staff at an international non governmental organization said Warta Kota was suitable for a commuter like her.
“I have tried reading several newspapers but it’s Warta Kota that suits a commuter like me the best,” said the resident of Bintaro who rides Bintaro-Tanah Abang executive train every day.
First of all, she said, it only cost Rp 1,000 (around US cent 10).
“It has light content, no heavy political stuff and the likes. Sure, it has crime stories as headlines, but it is not nauseating cause there’s no picture of people bleeding and stuff.
“The articles are short, light… It’s perfect for morning reading,” Tantri said.
Media observer Ignatius Haryanto from the Institute of Press and Development Studies (LSPP) praised Warta Kota for its successful marketing.
“All in all, as a city paper, it is quite successful and has become quite an icon. It has managed to reach wide audience, from public transportation drivers to young executives, and become their references,” he said.


When it all begins

A sister publication of largest national newspaper Kompas daily (circulation nearly 500,000), Warta Kota was launched in 1999 by the country’s media mogul Gramedia Group (KKG).
It recruited a number of young people for the newsroom.
“We were gathered in Puncak to formulate together the concept and the content of the paper. We were divided into groups, and were asked to ‘produce’ our own paper. It was very exciting,” said a desk editor who joined the paper from the early days as a reporter fresh from graduation.
From a small office in KKG ground in Palmerah, West Jakarta, the company then moved to an old, colonial building in Kota area, Central Jakarta, or known as the hub of electronic and entertainment businesses.
In order to build a solid and tough team, the paper once even moved the company meeting to an open area outside Jakarta in the middle of the night amid the hard pouring rain.
Dedy said the company aims at creating a healthy and conducive environment for all staff, a total of 111 people, with 70 of them occupies the newsroom.
“We emphasize on transparency and openness. Everyone may know how much the company earn, how much we spend, where the money allocated. As you can see, people can just come into my office whenever they like,” he said.
All editors, him included, he added, must not just sit around at the office and ordering reporters and editing their articles, but also going to the field and write.
Soon after, the paper emerged and filled the void of the city publication previously filled with papers that focused on bloody crime story with gory and graphic photos, to a cleaner one that catered to the middle and upper class market, the educated readers.
It filled with the information on urban issues, from lifestyle to transportation, and it was critical to local administration.
“It also became a venue for young educated to discuss everything that happened in the capital through the opinion pages,” Ignatius said.

The transformation

The clean and educated image, according to Dedy, turned out hard to sell. For the first two years, the circulation stucked at 12,000, which was really troubling to finance all expenses.
In a bid to boost the circulation, Gramedia (KKG) then moved Dedy – at that time led Fokus, a one-hour news program produced by Kompas and Indosiar private TV station – to take over the newsroom of Warta Kota in 2001.
He was already a veteran journalist, working in Kompas since 1978 before being moved to other publications inside KKG and Fokus Indosiar.
Together with his team, Dedy did the mapping of all problems from finance to news-related, of what worked and not for a city paper, gathering all inputs from any kind of people possible – from experts to common readers to agents.
An internal reformation then was conducted to make the company more efficient. The company then came to a conclusion that to be able to sell, the paper needed to do a transformation, in this case shifting its initial image from a clean and educated city paper to catch up with its ‘gutter press’ compatriots.
“We have to be realistic. What the majority of readers want are not clean and educated paper, that’s very segmented. Look at our television,” he said bluntly.
And so Warta Kota changed its focus in 2004. It employed huge, intriguing headlines on hot and juicy stories – mostly crime and celebrity news. Sports section was increased to a spread page and more celebrity news on the back pages.
“Yet, we still pay attention to journalism standard and ethic as well as good editorial style. Our army of copy editors are very strict when it comes to editorial style and languages.
“Instead of gory pictures, we apply graphic, like comic book. So, people would not get nausea,” Dedy said.
The paper also apply robust marketing strategy that include, aside of conventional advertisement, hiring street singers to sing tunes about Warta Kota, as well as recruiting college students to read the paper or discuss the content of the paper at bus shelters.
The transformation and marketing strategy proved efficient to boost the business. Data from the ABC showed that the circulation rose on average of 10,000 a month, from 38,000 copies at the beginning of the transformation to 169,000 at present.
“I don’t mind to brag, but you can check the agents, they called our paper ‘wonder baby’ or ‘drugs’, because it sells like hot cakes in no time,” said the friendly and warm Dedy, laughing.
“It already sold out at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. We have our own team to check the sales every single day in the field. The rate of returned copies is only 3% to 7%,” he said.
Once in three to five months, the paper invite representatives of corporates and agencies to spend a night in a hotel for brainstorming and merely entertaining them. The guests will be brought to see the printing process and interview all employees.
As the result of the efforts, not only that the paper is able to face its head-to-head competitors like Berita Kota, Pos Kota, and regional papers like Radar Bogor, it also crosses the region and goes as far as West Java, Central Java, East Java and Sumatra.
In 2006, Warta Kota was among the winners of prestigious Superbrands award from Superbrands Council chaired by marketing guru Hermawan Kertajaya. Other brands awarded included Nokia, Toyota, Top One and Indofood.
The award was given for its rapid growth (the fastest growing newspaper), low percentage of returned copies, and the value it gave the readers, distributors and advertisers by presenting interesting, trusty and useful articles.

What now?

At the moment, Dedy said, Warta Kota plans to boost its promotion. But rather than grabbing young readers like other papers yearn to, Dedy said the promotional effort aimed at strengthening the brand image.
“Our strongest readers are on their 30s, people with high financial potential. It was also seen in the recent blood donor event, where 1,450 people showed up and 70% of them are young executives. Fourty percent of our readers, meanwhile, are housewives. They just love our entertainment section,” Dedy said, laughing.
The paper did not plan to increase the price of Rp 1,000, “unless there is a recession. But even then, we will prefer to save cost internally instead of putting the burden to our readers,” Dedy said.
Meanwhile, many people out of seeing the potential of Warta Kota, suggested that the paper improved its content and positioning.
Tantri the commuter said she wanted to see more information on what is happening in the city, beyond entertainment, crime and sports stories.
“There are too much portions on entertainment and crime. I want to know more about where to eat, what’s hot in town, what’s new.
“The education column is actually very well-written and informative, but unfortunately, it is marginalized,” she said.
Media observer Veven S.P. Wardhana said the paper should have been in the forefront in getting stories of what matters for Jakartans, such as transportation issues or public protest.
“It’s so easy actually to get information on when and where a public protest would be staged, as anyone who want to stagea protest should inform the police first. I notice how many local radios manage to do that.
“In the case of blackout, for instance, there should be in depth information about that, not just the bombastic aspect of an incident,” Veven said.
In terms of positioning, he said, Warta Kota has yet to have strict positioning, as it seems to be wanting to grab both lower and upper markets, while not optimizing them.
Meanwhile, Ignatius challenged the paper to again provide the venue for discussion as well as upholding its function as a city paper that has to be critical to local administration.
“The commercial aspect is more prominent right now. Sure, we have to be realistic, but we can’t just think of business only. There are many people from middle to upper class who yearn for a city publication that cater to their need for information. Jakartans have a lot of issues and problems, and there is no venue to talk about it. And that’s the market segment that can be worked on,” he said.
“Media should not just be dictated by market. Now that Warta Kota is settled and strong in terms of business, it must start to think how to dictate the market. And it’s not unprecedented. Look at Kompas, it’s a major player but not trapped in commercialization, but managed to come up with innovation.”

Labels: media

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Sex sells, but does 'Playboy' have the bare essentials?

Saturday, January 21, 2006
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The prepublication hype and ensuing furor about the debut of a local version of Playboy overshadowed the big question: Is there really a market for another men's magazine here?

Despite laws against pornography and House discussions scheduled next week, magazines featuring scantily clad models in suggestive poses are readily available at local newsstands.

And those with more hard-core tastes can make some knowing inquiries among the magazine and book vendors in Senen, Central Jakarta.

The advent of the free speech era since the end of the Soeharto regime in 1998 opened the way for girlie magazines, offering everything from girl-next-door cheesecake to no-excuses smut.

Aside from local publications like Matra and Popular, which have been around for years, local franchises of FHM, and most recently, U.S.-based Maxim, are also vying for a share of readership.

Now, the biggest brand of all, Playboy, is coming to town.

Ponti Carolus, director of PT Velvet Silver Media which holds the license from the U.S.-based magazine, says there is great potential here, even if the local version will be toned down and without the famous nude pictorials.

"We had a lot of considerations before deciding to publish this magazine," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The upscale girlie magazines are not cheap; both FHM and Matra sell for Rp 28,500 (about US$3) an issue.

FHM managing editor Richard Sam Bera said his publication enjoyed good sales since making its debut in 2003, with monthly circulation from 60,000 to 75,000 copies nationwide.

"Interestingly, 25 percent of our readers are women, which is in line with our aim to get women and men closer," said the national swimming champion.

A woman said she enjoyed reading FHM because the advice on sexual topics was franker than in women's magazines.

Media analyst Veven S.P. Wardhana doubt, however, the demand for the magazines is particularly high, despite the adage that sex -- in all its forms -- sells.

"That's the nature of this country. If something sells, another will quickly follow. I did a little survey at several newsstands, and the vendors said that such magazines and tabloids don't sell that well. You can check the advertisements in the publications, there are only few of them."

Popular's managing editor Buyung Pramunsyie said the magazine, established in 1988, took years to gain a solid business footing. Today, the 158-page publication has a monthly readership of about 60,000.

"Indonesians simply don't read. And today there is a lot of competition, not just from publications, but also the Internet as well as cheap pirated porn."
It was not enough to offer racy pinups, he said.

"Our main selling points are the swimsuit pinups and sex tips, but we have other things that people love. Surveys show that people do read our film and music reviews, as well as our automotive page."

For magazine reader Yasha Chatab, the models in girlie magazines look too "cheap".
"The models in local upscale fashion or women's magazines are several notches higher. The models in women's magazine always look better and more desirable," he said.

Labels: culture, media

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'Safety first' rule not enough for reporters covering war zones

Thursday, February 24, 2005
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Legendary photographer Robert Capa once said: "If your picture's not good enough, you're not close enough".
The remark has become a guideline for photographers and journalists covering armed conflicts.
The question is, how close is close enough?
Many journalists have been murdered or abducted in war zones, with the latest being the seven-day abduction of Metro TV journalist Meutya Hafid and cameraman Budiyanto in war-torn Iraq.
Is this something unavoidable, or can journalists prepare for these risks?
Extensive training and preparation cannot guarantee the safety of reporters covering war zones, according to two local journalists with extensive experience covering armed conflicts.
"It's no-man's land; there are no rules. Even if we go with a 'safety-first' rule, anything can happen to any of us at random," Rommy Fibri of Tempo weekly magazine told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
However, Rommy, who has covered the United States occupation of Iraq three times since 2003, said that there are some preparations that journalists going into war zones can do to minimize risk.
Aside from all-condition shoes and outfits, journalists must be equipped with extensive knowledge on the region being covered.
"I brought with me books on how to cover conflict areas, books written by experienced journalists, a dictionary, and clippings. The more information the better," he said.
Links and contacts must also be prepared to make it easier for journalists to, for instance, hire interpreters.
As for bullet-proof vests, Rommy gave up wearing them even though his office provides one.
"The vest is long and very stiff; it's very uncomfortable and hampers your mobility. The greenish color also makes it similar to an Iraqi military uniform.
"I thought, even if I was wearing it I could still be shot dead. So I didn't even bother to bring it on my last visit to Iraq last June," Rommy recalled.
By way of contrast, M. Nasir from the Kompas daily witnessed his colleague have a close call in a gunfight in East Timor in 1999, saved by his bullet-proof vest.
"The vest is indeed very stiff, but for the sake of safety I always wear it," said Nasir who has covered several dangerous conflicts, including Bosnia, East Timor and Afghanistan.
Nasir also advised journalists to bring a lot of extra money, aside from canned food and snacks.
"If you go by land, every check point will ask you for money. Not to mention hoodlums on the streets."
Both Rommy and Nasir, however, did not bother to check on their insurance, as they were sure their offices would cover them.
Rommy said journalists must come up with scenarios and contingency plans.
"You have to really show respect to local people. Meet the local tribal chief and clerics, as they are often more powerful than state officials.
"Also, bring photographs showing your human side, such as pictures of your wife and children. Different prayer books for different sects are also essential to have," Rommy said.
To avoid being robbed in Iraq, Rommy said that it was important to pick the right car to be rented, the right car number plate, and an appropriate driver.
"Get an Iraqi driver. Don't rent cars with Jordanian plates and driver because Iraqis dislike Jordanians as they are believed not to be against the American occupation," Rommy said.
SUVs and other fancy vehicles will get you mugged, or even abducted, as almost happened to Rommy.
Unfortunately for TV journalists, he added, they were assumed to be rich so that their cars could be stopped anytime.
Whatever happens while covering war, Nasir said that safety must always come first.
"You have to prepare yourself mentality. You don't know who you will face," he said.
However, no matter how dangerous it is, hotel room journalism, where journalists only monitor the war from the comfort of their hotel rooms, is not an option.
"Monitoring the media and reading is a good thing to do, because we can be shortsighted in the field, not knowing the big picture. But the point of going to (conflict zones) is to observe at close range. So you must try to get outside no matter how dangerous it might be," Nasir said.

Labels: media

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Magazines reach out to well-heeled

Sunday, October 24, 2004
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While browsing through a local society magazine, "Johan", an Indonesian who has lived in the Netherlands for most of his life, pored over the parade of photos of people hobnobbing and partying.
The 33 year old, who rarely makes trips to his homeland, finally came across a face he recognized, a man striking a pose at a trendy club.
"Hey, I know this guy! He works at a bar in Amsterdam, carrying kegs of beer! Well, now I know what he's doing every time he comes home to Jakarta," he said.
With a look of surprise, Johan pointed again to the man's picture. "Look at his outfit, it's gotta be expensive."
And part of his surprise may have come from the fact that in this supposedly impoverished, indebted third world country, we can get to see the upper crust having their cake and eating it too in several glossy society magazines.
The magazines provide information for the rich and famous on where to shop, dine, spend their vacations and get a Botox jab, as well as allocating ample photo space for them to have their moment in the spotlight.
A sickening show of vanity and pretentiousness, you say? Jealousy gets you nowhere would be the likely retort.
The Peak and Indonesian Tatler, both in English, have been joined by Prestige Indonesia, a franchise of the Singapore magazine, which was launched in a swank do at a five-star hotel in Jakarta in September.
Prestige Indonesia's publisher and editor-in-chief, Ronald Liem, said the timing was right to launch another society/lifestyle magazine in the country, with an increasingly educated and sophisticated market.
The market for luxury products is also growing, with new boutiques opening here.
"Luxury product advertisers have the budget and they are looking for the right media to advertise their products. They are looking for something like this in Indonesia," said Ronald, who also publishes the English-language travel and lifestyle magazine DestinAsian.
Prestige also has a sister company involved in luxury businesses, such as property and retailing, which means in terms of advertisements, the magazine is in safe territory.
Of course, the focus on glitz and glamor is not for everybody. Photographer James Nachtwey once said that his commitment to documenting war and poverty was partly due to fact that the media gives too much attention to lifestyle, celebrities, fashion and entertainment.
Ronald argued that people want to find escapism amid the bombardment of depressing news about terrorism and global problems.
"The market is big enough, there is a market segment there. We are targeting people who aspire to have this kind of lifestyle."
It is targeting the affluent market, but about half of its 15,000 print run gets complimentary distribution to the main movers and shakers.
Instead of hiring professional models for its layouts, the magazine uses socialites and celebrities.
"I think Indonesian ladies are quite famous for being beautiful and are beautiful dressers. So, we approach the celebrities and socialites. That's the unique selling point of the magazine," Ronald said.
Amid the heavy advertisement load, product information, fashion and party pages, he added that the magazine aspired to offer something different from other magazines in content.
There are columns with financial advice, Ronald said, such as how to spend money wisely (an apartment in Sydney or the Caribbean? A private jet or private boat?), as well as information about heritage, culture and restaurants.
"Some people consider it soft journalism, well, it's not New Yorker. But we want our readers to actually learn something about it, 'cause I don't like to waste trees. When we do a profile, we won't ask those superficial questions like a favorite brand and so on. We talk about a philosophy or rule of leadership, that's more interesting.
"It's not high journalism, but we can add more substance with the questions we have."
Despite the desire for the magazine to bring more depth to its content, many people, even those in the targeted readership market, find them to be superficial and only serving to confirm societal status.
But restaurateur Amalia Wirjono said the magazine helped her keep in touch with upper class society, her target audience as well, to promote her restaurant Koi.
"True, it is more of a status thing. If I want information, I look someplace else," said Amalia, who makes frequent appearances on the party pages of society magazines as well as appearing on the cover of Prestige Indonesia.
Director Nia Dinata, whose 2003 film Arisan (Gathering) poked fun at her own crowd of urban socialites, said she did not see any reason to subscribe to such magazines.
"What we need right now is a magazine like Vanity Fair, that can balance the articles on lifestyle and serious issues like politics. Even the pieces on politics are an easy read."
It's true that there is no middle ground here between the serious content of magazines like Tempo and Gatra, or the light entertainment and lifestyle magazines of Kosmopolitan and a+, as well as the society magazines.
There is no magazine that can create a happy medium like Vanity Fair, which runs cover stories on Reese Witherspoon or Jude Law along with scathing condemnations of George W. Bush, or even music magazine Rolling Stone's current affairs articles.
Ronald disagreed.
"It doesn't fit into the whole thing if we suddenly talk about corruption and stuff. This is not the concept of the magazine. if you mix socialites with politicians and stuff, you get things mixed up."
Media observer Veven SP Wardhana said that the difference was that in developed countries people consider lifestyle and entertainment to be sources of information, not status symbols.
"That's why we can find in-depth analysis on lifestyle in a foreign magazine, not just the superficial stuff," he said.
The ultra-lite content has more to do with the mentality of the people in this country, he added, as well as the fact that the reading habit remained poor.
"Finding writers won't be a difficult thing, as media people are pretty flexible. But people are not really looking for information here. There are people who do, and they will go straight to the source: Foreign magazines or the Internet."

Labels: culture, media

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Music magazines: Coming up short with local readers

Sunday, April 25, 2004
Hera Diani , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

At a bookstore in Kemang, South Jakarta, Pri searched for a copy of Rolling Stone music magazine, the so-called "immortal" edition about 50 legendary musicians.
Describing the edition as a must-have item for him as a music fan, he said he often bought the magazine for its great content.
"The writing is excellent, funny, often sarcastic but analytical and critical," said the 30-year-old PR company worker.
"It's something I've never found in local magazine."
While Americans browse through Rolling Stone, Spin or Maxim Blender, and British music aficionados scan-read Q magazine and nme tabloid, Indonesians have to keep up with a merry-go-round of poor quality music magazines folding after a splashy debut.
Music publications, including Newsmusik magazine, Mumu tabloid and Tabloid Rock, were shortlived, suffering from poor music knowledge, a lack of basic journalism and from being slanted to the editors' personal tastes.
Left on newsstands now are teenage magazines with little music coverage compared to fashion and lifestyle articles. The few music pieces are cute, funky and superficial.
Several publications -- like MTV Trax, Popcity, Poster and Hai -- try to give more extensive and deeper music coverage, but the scope of knowledge and writing quality are still spotty.
Reviews do not provide critical feedback for musicians, but merely consist of a synopsis and background information, written seemingly in a reciprocal relationship with record companies and promoters.
Even the music section of the country's largest daily, Kompas, mostly conforms to the formulaic review.
The current state of music publications is particularly disappointing because there was once an excellent music magazine, Aktuil, first published in 1967.
Based in the music hub of Bandung, West Java, it presented not only music news and features, but also analytical pieces on pop culture, both local and international.
Backed by noted figures in the music and literature scenes, like novelist Remy Silado and the late talent scout Denny Sabri Gandanegara, the magazine never failed to come up with new and daring ideas.
Remy's articles inspired a number of musicians to fight against capitalism and the mainstream, and his provocative poems served as the young writers' credo in the 1970s, criticizing the established literature scene dominated by the Jakarta-based literati.
Aktuil reached its pinnacle in 1975 when it succeeded in bringing rock group Deep Purple to perform here.
It was downhill from there: Plagued by internal conflicts, mismanagement and aging editors stuck in a rut, Aktuil closed in 1986.
No serious contender has emerged to take its place.
Akmal Basral, former chief editor of MTV Trax, said the potential market for music publication was high, because almost everyone was interested in the subject.
"The content is one thing and marketing is another. The problem is that local publications fail to come up with strong format and content," he said.
Although there was a lack of competition at the time, Aktuil was a huge success because the people behind it had strong knowledge of music, becoming pioneers in their respective fields.
"Now, editors often lack even the basic technical terms. Song titles, for instance, are often written incorrectly. Readers are often smarter, so no wonder they no longer trust the publications," said Akmal.
Some music aficionados have taken to publishing their own independent media, such as Ripple and Trolley. Of course, the publications are inevitably segmented and lack a marketing strategy.
The Internet changes everything, Akmal added, so that unless editors can come up with focused and new angles of writing, people would turn to website sources.
Akmal faced the problem of finding good human resources when he landed the position at the MTV Trax in 2002. "We then picked people with a deep musical background rather than journalists."
Feeling "too old and not crazy enough", Akmal was replaced by Hagi Hagoromo, former editor at celebrity tabloid Bintang Milenia.
There has been some improvement in the magazine since, with better reviews and coverage of the indie scene. Still, the superficiality remains, and at times it often comes across as pretentious and sensational, trying too hard to be cutting edge.
Hagi said it was difficult to juggle the idealism of presenting quality music content with finding advertisements to support operations.
"Advertisers want the hard sell, while the competition with other magazines is stiff," he said, adding its 30,000 circulation was quite good for a new publication.
He admitted that human resources were still a problem, even though there were many people with music knowledge and the abundant sources to be found on the Internet.
"But those who have references and can funnel the ideas and concepts through their writing are still few."
Experienced freelance music journalist Denny Sakrie said music reporters often lacked a love for music and merely entered the field to earn a living.
"Some are real journalists, but they were transferred from other desks so they have no knowledge. All they do then is just rewrite the press release," he said.
It comes down to a lack of a good grounding in music and the appreciation of musical knowledge as consisting of more than knowing the current Top 10.
It inevitably affects the quality of the music scene because of the lack of real critics.
"It results in half-baked musicians, and copycat acts in the music industry. Songs now sound the same because of that, and because there is no constructive criticism from music critics," Denny said.
Is there still hope for the appearance of a quality music publication?
Both Denny and Akmal believe there is, as long as there are efforts to improve the quality of human resources.
"Local publications have yet to dare to innovate. Music coverage and angles are still standard, as reviews or profiles. The entry point can be music, but it can be so wide," Akmal said, referring to U.S. magazine Maxim Blender that consistently comes up with good human interest stories about musicians, and provides interactive columns with readers.
"On the level of managing editors and above, they are still unable to catch up with the fast lane of fashion and trends."
There is a long-standing rumor about a local investor looking to secure the franchise license for Rolling Stone. With what they would have to work with, it's little wonder the rumor has come to nothing.

Labels: media, music

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Alleged rape victims violated again by media

Sunday, November 23, 2003
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Teen soap opera actor Faisal strutted and posed confidently for the cameras, making light of rape allegations lodged by an 18-year-old ex-girlfriend.

"She's the one who forced me into sexual intercourse... Even if I did rape (a woman), why wouldn't I have picked a beautiful one?" the 19 year old said.

While the United States is gripped by the trial of basketball star Kobe Bryant for allegedly raping a young woman, local media has been whipped up into a frenzy about Faisal and his accuser.

Celebrity gossip tabloids and TV shows have been vying to land the latest scoop about the allegations, trundling out the young star's mother, his coworkers and fans to protest his innocence.

While the onus is on the woman to prove her allegations in court, she is also called on to justify herself in the court of public opinion, presided over by a skeptical tabloid media, in which concerns for privacy are judged inconsequential.

The past sexual history of Faisal's accuser has been dredged up, and she has been described as promiscuous. One TV gossip show interviewed a former boyfriend who alleged he had sex with the woman, and showed his home movie of her joking around for the camera.

"Well, if her allegation is true, then why isn't she brave enough to show her face?" sniffed one TV presenter after a camera crew came up empty-handed after camping out at the woman's home.

The dissection of the woman's background and personality is eerily similar to the Bryant case, where the young woman's history of emotional problems has been served up for public consumption and an old high school prom picture, showing her saucily lifting her skirt, has been published.

Of course, rape is a serious and damning allegation, but the media seems star-struck in reporting about Faisal, who has been declared a suspect but argues that he had consensual sex with the woman.

Faisal has told his side of the story to the tabloids; in return, they have waxed on about his youthful handsomeness, his thick eyebrows and beautiful aquiline nose, and pointed out that he has always played the good boy in TV series.

The inference is that the young woman -- loose and no great beauty -- must have concocted the rape allegation out of jealousy, a desire to grab some of the celebrity spotlight.

"That is so sexist. Pretty or not, anyone can become a rape victim," said woman's rights activist and legal expert Nursyahbani Katjasungkana.

Media observer Veven S.P. Wardhana said that local media still cannot position itself as a sympathetic but objective party in its treatment of alleged rape victims.

"They always focus on the physical description of the victims, like having fair skin and all. That's irrelevant. It's almost saying that because of her fair skin, she deserves to be raped," Veven said.

Biased coverage is also not exclusive to the scandal sheets, he added, noting that it is also done by mainstream publications and women's magazines.

"A women's tabloid once even published a picture of a child who was raped. Imagine the girl's pain and embarrassment. Women's publications are supposedly more sensitive, but the facts prove otherwise," he said.

Nursyahbani said local journalists also lacked an understanding about the different forms that rape can take, aside from the standard definition of forced sexual intercourse.

"While there are others concepts, such as sexual intercourse without consent, oral sex. Maybe it's because in Bahasa Indonesia, the vocabulary and understanding is still limited. While in English there's rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment," she said.

Fed up by the media coverage, the mother of Faisal's accuser went to the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), seeking support for her daughter.

After the meeting on Nov. 6, the head of Komnas Perempuan's monitoring subcommission, Murniati, warned journalists to tone down their coverage.

"The press has to consider carefully the victim's psychological circumstances. Publicity can leave the victim more depressed," she said.

However, in what some found a strange position to take for an institution entrusted as a guardian of women's interests, the commission said it did not believe the complaint should have been brought to its attention.

As biased and sexist coverage can be considered violence against women, perhaps the institution best suited to handling such a dispute is the media governing body of the Press Council.

Unfortunately, the council itself has no rules about biased coverage in rape cases.
"There is no specific point about that in the journalistic code of ethics. It's just the question of appropriateness. It is the same as covering war victims -- we shouldn't expose pictures of the wounded," said council head Ikhlasul Amal.

Complaints can be addressed to the Council, who will later summon the media in question.

"They have to provide clarification, an apology or sanction the reporters. If they refuse, we will publish a press release about them. I think that will be embarrassing enough for the media," Ikhlasul said.

It's doubtful the offending media's embarrassment, if any, compares to the shame of those women brave enough to come forward to face their own trial by fire.

Labels: media, women's right

Posted by hera at 12:39 AM | Permalinks | Comments

MTV' tunes into today's trends

Sunday, August 05, 2001
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Go ask a group of teenagers at the mall about what they want to be when they grow up.
Yes, doctor, architect or accountant are sure to come up, but, in their hipsters and tank tops and sneakers, they will also mention an occupation that never crossed the minds of their parents.
MTV veejay.
Being on the station, talking the talk and becoming a household name has been a dream of many since MTV Asia first broadcast into the country's living rooms in 1995 on ANteve and by satellite.
Every time MTV looks for the person with the right combination of looks, personality and teen appeal to be a new VJ (they call it a VJ Hunt), more than 2,500 people are sure to sign up. Many of them are even already famous, like model Caroline Zachrie.
From four million viewers of ANteve in 1995, last year's official viewer figure is more than 19 million households.
"That is only based on people who watched it through ANteve. That means there are a few million more who watched through satellite," public relations executive of MTV Southeast Asia Jakarta Muthia Farida told The Jakarta Post.
The station's influence on young people in music, lifestyle and fashion is undeniable. Hip-hop and rap have taken on their own regional variations, there are marked changes in attitudes toward formerly taboo subjects, including sex, and what young people wear in Jakarta is little different from New York or London.
A recent survey by Asia Market Intelligence and Bates advertising shows that MTV is the coolest brand among teenagers in this country.
An Indonesia Peoplemeter survey by AC Nielsen confirms that MTV is the most popular music channel in the country, reaching 75 percent of the audience aged 15 to 34 every month.
Little wonder that advertisers are banging on the door to plug their products, especially as the station's influence spread last year with the founding of MTV Radio and also merchandise store MTV Style.
According to Muthia, from five local advertisers in 1995 there are now over 50 local companies advertising on the station, over 100 regional advertisers and 50 advertisers who sponsor shows.
Changes
For the music industry in Indonesia, MTV has changed everything. Video clips are now an integral part of the success of singers and bands, with a well-produced video sometimes able to make a hit of a so-so tune.
New artists take advantage of MTV to lure the public, and old ones come back to it time and again to put their careers back on track.
Take Chrisye for example.
The 50-something singer and songwriter is suddenly hip again. His formula for success is to remake old hits, looking a little out of place as he stands among a bevy of models and other celebrities in striking videos produced by top directors.
Record companies acknowledge the influence of MTV as a promotional medium.
"It would be very stupid if we didn't use MTV to promote our artists," Suntono, a promotions executive at PT Indo Semar Sakti, told the Post.
One of Indo Semar's bands is Naif, whose latest album Jangan Terlalu sold hundreds of thousands of copies and won many honors, including an MTV award.
However, Suntono said that MTV was not the be all and end all of making a successful record.
"It really helps. But since the broadcasting is limited, the impact is not really that significant," he noted.
Fashion
The channel has also been part of changing fashion.
What the artists on MTV are wearing will soon be found adorning bodies in cities large and small around the world.
Fashion writer Muara Bagdja said MTV exerted a profound influence on fashion tastes among the young, and also made them a fashion market to be reckoned with in Indonesia.
Before its debut, he said, most Indonesian designers made clothes for older women. Today, local designers such as Urban Crew and the teen-oriented boutiques of Mangga Dua, for example, know where their rupiah is to be made.
"I don't think MTV is merely part of the change, but what has made the changes occur among the young," Muara said, noting fashion references to the Madonna and more recently Destiny's Child "looks".
"In fashion, you see the clothes are bolder, freer, dynamic, trendy. The influence wasn't directly on the designers but on the consumers -- and then the designers followed."
He said that MTV's nonmusic programming and ultrahip VJs, including bilingual Sarah Sechan, also had a positive effect on the personality and attitudes of Indonesian youth.
Young Indonesians, he believed, now hold to "universal" values, which have come in tandem with globalization and technological advances.
"Today young people are more open, more direct. Just compare how someone like Indra Safera approaches a topic to how Bob Tutupoli did," Muara said of the popular emcees.
Power
There is no doubt MTV has an influence on the lifestyle of young people, but is it really creating those trends or is it merely an artful follower?
Youth observer Robby Chandra said the power of MTV lay in its ability to study, observe and then conclude what was hip among young people.
"They can read the spirit of young people, give it the format and creatively present the things that are really suitable for them," he said.
Guitarist Piyu from rock band Padi said the function of MTV was only as an information provider.
"It only gives input about what's hip, information about the latest music," he said. "But when it comes to setting trends, it's not MTV who does it. The trend is already there. MTV only gives the impression that they are the actual trendsetters, while they're actually not."
Some young people criticize MTV Asia as too mainstream and commercial, and that its original mission as a music channel has taken a backseat to its reality-based shows, such as It's My Life, promoted as an up-close look at the lives of young Asians.
"Hery," 26, said that he stopped watching MTV over a year ago because the content was only boybands and teen pop.
"The local shows are also disappointing. It's My Life, for example, is a very bad reality show. And MTV Screen is not a movie review -- it is movie promotions because (according to the show) every movie is good," he said.
"Shouldn't MTV be about being different, taking risks and youth freedom?"
Others, however, worry that sometimes the content shown on the channel, with scantily clad men and women living out the "rock n' roll" lifestyle, goes too far.
Robby, along with Piyu and Muara, expressed concern about the negative impact of the music channel, which he said promoted consumerism and a hedonistic lifestyle in some of its programming.
Although MTV's various channels around the world have taken steps against explicit drug references in songs, including late-night-only airings of the offending videos, Muthia said the presence of "western values" was unavoidable.
"We can't just cut videos like that," she said.
And if they did, what would Indonesia's budding MTV Generation do?

Labels: culture, media, urban

Posted by hera at 3:27 AM | Permalinks | Comments

Up-close and not so personal with 'MTV It's My Life'

Sunday, December 10, 2000
MTV It's My Life; ANteve: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.; MTV Asia: Tuesday, 8:30p.m., Friday, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, 4:30 p.m.

JAKARTA (JP): The phenomenon that is MTV -- who can doubt its popularity among teenagers?
When the music-only TV channel was first established in the United States19 years ago, the skeptics had a field day, saying it would last for a yearat most. You know, who actually wants to watch a 24-hour music channel?
Well, surprise, surprise, MTV turned out to be a giant industry and a media icon for young people around the world. An entire "MTV Generation" was born.
MTV Asia arrived in 1995 with three 24-hour channels -- MTV Mandarin, MTV Southeast Asia and MTV India. Like its forebear, it is also hip among young people and sets trends for them.
Many shows with local content have been produced, including MTV It's My Life, which is now in its second season.
The half-hour show is meant to be a peek into the daily lives of six young people from six different countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and India.
The participants were selected from thousands of young Asians who signed up. With a series of tests, a jury from MTV picked the six winners who would be followed by a cameraman for every minute of every day for three months.
The show's aim is clearly to give an up-close and personal look into the lives of young Asians in their respective countries. The idea is based on the MTV USA show MTV Real World.
The difference is that Real World gathers seven young people (not necessarily U.S residents as some have been from Australia and Europe), andputs them together in a house with a cool interior design for about three months.
The audience gets to see how they interact with each other, how they become friends, or maybe enemies, as shown when one of the participants wasso annoying that his housemates decided to kick him out.
But the show is quite successful in picturing young people's lives, theirthoughts, their views, their dreams.
These are the very things that It's My Life unfortunately fails to present.
The first thing to be concerned about is the choice of participants. Fromthe first season, the jury's selection was questionable.
Check out the lineup of the first season: a college student/model/actress, a model and singer wannabe, a couple of annoying andboring high school twins, a waiter in a Hard Rock Hotel, a wimpy dancer/dancing teacher and a reporter (or was it editor?) of a magazine.
Roll out the second season's lineup: a model (again), a college student/model/actress, a high school student, a professional mountain biker, an assistant in an artist management company and a radio DJ/emcee/singer.
Are they in any way representative of their peers around Asia? Oh, come on.
The continual choice of models (because their easy on the eyes?) is one issue. And judging from their outfits, houses and cars, it is clear that the monetary crisis which battered the region in recent years had nothing to do with their privileged lives.
It is no comparison with the Real World, which is supposed to be its standard, which shows a variety of people who come from every level and group in society. Men, women, rich, poor, gay, straight, you name it.
One thing is for sure, they are in line with the title, the Real World.
Secondly, and most importantly, what is highly questionable about It's MyLife is the content of the show. Scenes of people getting a haircut, meeting clients, going for a car ride with a friend, dating, traveling and striding down the catwalk all eventually get really boring.
The only exception was the woman reporter from Hong Kong in the first season.
She sure has a fun life as a reporter, and she really filled her spare time with exciting activities like diving, bungee jumping, traveling abroadand stuff. Then again, how many young people can afford such activities?
At the very least the show should provide insight into the thoughts and dreams of the participants. It should, but it does not.
"I want to stay in the United States for the rest of my life," sighs Indonesian Charmantha Adji, the 23 year-old artist manager who graduated from an American university.
Other comments are also about as deep as the thought process of third graders.
Oh, please. Where is the angst, the anxiety, the restless soul of youth?
It's nowhere to be found, just like on the other superficial shows featured on the channel (Hera Diani).

Labels: culture, media, urban

Posted by hera at 3:37 AM | Permalinks | Comments