Ad hoc media center opens<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In order to provide better access to local and foreign media for
\nthe latest developments in the JW Marriott Hotel bombing
\ninvestigation, the Jakarta administration and the National Police
\nestablished on Sunday the City of Jakarta Media Center at the
\nSari Pan Pacific Hotel on Jl. M.H. Thamrin, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"The media center will be open for about two weeks to enable
\nthe media to obtain information from reliable sources. We will
\narrange for specific officials to speak (in the press briefings)
\nupon your request," Governor Sutiyoso told the press.<\/p>\n
The center, which occupies a room on the hotel's fourth floor,
\nwill be open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
The center has standard business facilities for journalists'
\nuse, including Internet connection, fax machines, telephones and
\na meeting room that can accommodate 100 people. Translators are
\navailable for foreign journalists.<\/p>\n
"The center will also provide contact persons regarding the
\nlatest developments of the investigation," said a staffer.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Spokesman Muhayat told The Jakarta Post that the media
\ncenter was established specifically to provide information to
\nforeign media from reliable sources.<\/p>\n
"We don't want them to gather the wrong information from
\nunqualified sources," he said, as it would mislead the public.<\/p>\n
The National Police had earlier set up a media center at the
\nJakarta Police Headquarters near the Semanggi cloverleaf. But the
\ncenter failed to meet the press' high demand for information, as
\nit had only two staffers for a variety of tasks, including
\nmonitoring the progress of the investigation as printed or
\nbroadcast in the media.<\/p>\n
The old media center also did not have a hotline, which made
\nit difficult for journalists to obtain the latest information,
\nand it did not provide daily press briefings at fixed times nor
\ntranslators for foreign journalists.<\/p>\n
"Besides the lack of staff and equipment, we also needed a
\nmore spacious and comfortable room to hold press conferences. We
\ndon't have such facilities at either the National Police
\nHeadquarters or the Jakarta Police Headquarters," Jakarta Police
\nspokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo told the Post. He did not elaborate
\non the budget allocated toward the media center, nor its source.<\/p>\n
The City of Jakarta Media Center can be accessed by phone at
\n(021) 322 940 or (021) 323 010.<\/p>",
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