APEC meet will offer risks and rewards<\/p>\n
By Larry Pintak<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The countdown to the invasion has begun. In
\nearly November, the troops will arrive. The weapons they wield
\nare more powerful than any guns. The impact they will have could
\nmake or break the Indonesian investment climate for years to
\ncome.<\/p>\n
They are the international media. Some 3,000 strong, they will
\ndescend on Jakarta for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
\n(APEC) heads of state summit. But they will be there to cover far
\nmore than a few leaders shaking hands.<\/p>\n
In their vanguard will be the American press corps:
\nAggressive, cynical, looking to uncover the dirt.<\/p>\n
For a few short weeks, Indonesia will be in the world
\nspotlight -- and under the media microscope.<\/p>\n
It is not hard to anticipate what foreign reporters will focus
\non: Human rights, labor rights, the environment, corruption and
\nof course East Timor.<\/p>\n
Golden Key will become a household name overseas. The Dili
\nincident will be endlessly recounted.<\/p>\n
The challenge for Indonesia's business community will be to
\ntell the real story of Indonesia: The investment potential, the
\neconomic progress, the trade opportunities.<\/p>\n
Anyone who opened the newspaper or turned on a TV during last
\nyear's Seattle APEC Summit saw the potential. Along with stories
\nabout the meetings themselves, there were countless features on
\nthe Seattle business community, on Pacific trade links, on the
\ncity's tourism potential, even on the sidewalk coffee vendors.<\/p>\n
It was no accident. The business community made it happen. Led
\nby Boeing, corporations large and small banded together to
\ndevelop brochures, briefing books and videos, daily media tours
\nwere arranged to factories, financial centers and tourist sights,
\nleading businessmen threw open their office doors to any reporter
\nwith a pencil or microphone.<\/p>\n
In short, Seattle's business community saw the opportunity and
\nacted. It cost those companies a small fortune in money and time,
\nbut they are seeing the dividends today in increased trade,
\ninvestment and tourist arrivals.<\/p>\n
Seattle, as a Pacific business center, is firmly on the map.
\n\"A few years ago, it would have been unheard of for a local
\npolitician to be traveling to the other side of the world on
\nofficial business,\" a Seattle city council member explained on a
\nrecent trade mission to Jakarta. \"Since the APEC summit, it's
\njust part of the job.\"<\/p>\n
If the Indonesian business community does not likewise take
\nthe lead, if the country's story is left to \"tell itself,\"
\nIndonesia's greatest public relations opportunity could be
\ntransformed into its biggest image disaster.<\/p>\n
The portrait of Indonesia painted abroad will be largely
\nnegative, and the fallout for trade, investment, even tourism,
\nwill be huge.<\/p>\n
Just as huge is the potential for turning APEC into a showcase
\nfor Indonesia as the new business center of East Asia. The rise
\nof Jakarta Stock Exchange. The opportunities for manufacturers.
\nthe potential inherent in a market of 180 million people. All
\nthese stories are there to be told.<\/p>\n
But a positive picture of Indonesia is not something that can
\nbe created overnight or piecemeal. It takes groundwork, teamwork
\nand just plain work. To say nothing of money.<\/p>\n
An organized effort must be given widespread support. Fact
\nsheets and briefing book must be developed, spokesmen for the
\nbusiness community identified and prepared.<\/p>\n
You cannot spoon feed the Western press. You cannot -- for
\nlong -- mislead them. You cannot expect to dictate what they will
\nsay, who they will talk with, or where they will go.<\/p>\n
What can and should be done is to provide them with the tools
\nthat will allow them to go beyond the cliches; the information --
\npacked in a succinct and usable form -- which will help them see,
\nand hopefully tell, Indonesia's side of the story.<\/p>\n
No matter what Indonesia does, there will be negative stories.
\nThere will be criticism (Few people beyond Mother Teresa get only
\npositive coverage these days). But an organized effort, led by
\nthe business community, to work with the media can help balance
\nthe negative with the positive.<\/p>\n
Most reporters want to be balanced, they want to tell both
\nsides. But if one side fails to provide them with information--or
\nworse, if doors are closed in their face-- what do you think they
\nwill do?<\/p>\n
Failure to act will almost guarantee the coverage will all be
\nbad. And complaining about biased Western reporters later may
\nfeel satisfying, but it won't bring back those potential trade
\nand investment partners who see the negative coverage and decide
\nto take their business somewhere else.<\/p>\n
Larry Pintak, a former CBS News foreign correspondent and past-
\nChairman of the Public Relations Society of America International
\nSection, is International Managing Director of TriComm Strategic
\nCommunications, a public relations and video production firm with
\noffices in Jakarta and Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
Window: If Jakarta's APEC summit is left under biased coverage by
\nWestern reporters, Indonesia's greatest public relations
\noportunity could be transformed into its biggest image disaster.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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