By and for the community<\/p>\n
Anniversaries are always a time to celebrate as well as a time
\nto contemplate. Before we raise our glasses to toast The Jakarta
\nPost's 22nd anniversary today, let us share with our readers our
\ncontemplation about this newspaper and its future.<\/p>\n
Twenty-two is still a very young age for a newspaper,
\nespecially considering that the industry, according to the World
\nAssociation of Newspapers, marks its 400th anniversary this year.
\nBut this is all the more reason why we at The Jakarta Post are
\ndetermined to do the right thing as a newspaper. Given our
\nrelatively young age, there is so much that we can and must do.
\nOne area where we feel we have come particularly short in the
\npast is in serving our community of readers.<\/p>\n
As an Indonesian newspaper printed in the English-language, we
\nserve a very distinct group of readers. Broadly, they can be put
\ninto two categories: the expatriate community who live, work or
\nvisit Indonesia, and the Indonesian community who actively use
\nthe English language. Their numbers, according to our own
\nsurveys, are nearly the same, with the Indonesian readership
\nslightly higher than non-Indonesians.<\/p>\n
While these two groups may be distinct, they are equal in many
\nrespects. Our survey found these readers share many of the
\ncharacteristics that put them in, for want of a better term, the
\nmiddle class. These include their educational background,
\nprofession, income level and property ownership.<\/p>\n
Thus, despite different nationalities and cultural
\nbackgrounds, they share many of the middle-class values and
\ninterests that are common in most parts of the world. They long
\nfor security, peace and prosperity, as well as the ability to
\nlive and work, to enjoy life, and to raise their family in peace
\nand tranquility. They also long to live in a country that
\nrespects such values as personal freedoms, the rights to free
\nexpression, to free association, to freely practice their faith,
\ndemocracy and respect for human rights.<\/p>\n
Many of our readers, non-Indonesians and Indonesians alike,
\nhave the option to move to and live in another country that can
\noffer them the atmosphere to lead a decent life. The fact that
\nmany of them stay, through the good and bad here, suggests that
\nthey still believe in the future of this country. We do too.<\/p>\n
Not coincidentally, the values and interests that our readers
\nsubscribe to are the same values that The Jakarta Post, as an
\nIndonesian newspaper, seeks to defend and promote. The promotion
\nof a more humane civil society in this very diverse country, as
\nis written in our vision statement, corresponds well with those
\nvalues.<\/p>\n
When The Jakarta Post hit the streets for the first time on
\nApril 25, 1983, it had always been our intention to fight for the
\npromotion of a more democratic Indonesia. In the 1990s, we stuck
\nour neck out with a few other like-minded publications as far as
\nwe could to test the limits of press freedom allowed by the
\npowers that-be at that time. After the Soeharto regime collapsed
\nin 1998, we took upon ourselves the mission of pushing for the
\ncivil society agenda.<\/p>\n
During all these years of struggle, it is easy for us to
\nforget why, and more specifically, for whom, we are fighting. It
\nis certainly not for own benefit alone that we have been waging
\nthese battles: it is ultimately for the benefits of the public at
\nlarge, for the nation as a whole and more specifically, for our
\nreaders, both Indonesians and non-Indonesians.<\/p>\n
A newspaper cannot separate itself from its readers, their
\ninterests and their values. When it does, it will not be a
\nquestion of a newspaper abandoning its readers, as much as
\nreaders abandoning its newspaper which has become out of touch.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post's future hinges on the continued loyalty and
\npatronage of our readers. As we mark our 22nd anniversary, we
\nfind the need to touch base with you, our readers more
\nfrequently. We need to know you all better in order to serve
\nbetter.<\/p>\n
This year, we have started a campaign to focus on some of
\ndifferent communities of our readership. In March, we began with
\nthe Indian community. This month is Korean month, and Japan will
\nbe the flavor of the month in May. We have started with the Asian
\nexpatriate communities because they count among the larger groups
\nof foreigners in Indonesia. Other large expatriate communities
\nwill follow thereafter. Then there will also be special campaigns
\nfocused on different Indonesian communities.<\/p>\n
These are among the steps that we are taking, essentially to
\nbring ourselves closer to you. The Jakarta Post is, at the end of
\nthe day, a community newspaper. Ours is a community not so much
\ndefined by geography as by shared values and shared interests. It
\nis a small community but one that is expanding and vibrant.<\/p>\n
We thank our readers and advertisers, and supporting partners,
\nour colleagues, contributors and news sources, for their
\ncontinued loyalty and support all these years, and we look
\nforward to more exciting years together ahead of us.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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