E. Java stops buying papers<\/p>\n
SURABAYA (JP): The East Java provincial administration is
\nsaving money by canceling its subscriptions to 34 newspapers and
\nmagazines.<\/p>\n
An official said the administration had decided to cancel 90.8
\npercent of all subscriptions before March 1 to save money for the
\nMay 29 general election and National Sports Week in 2000.<\/p>\n
Governor Basofi Soedirman's office now subscribes to only
\nthree Jakarta-based newspapers, Kompas, Republika and Suara
\nKarya, and five local newspapers.<\/p>\n
Some journalists reporting on the East Java provincial
\nadministration have been outraged by the decision. They have
\nsigned an open letter criticizing the administration's public
\nrelations office for \"terminating communication with the mass
\nmedia\".<\/p>\n
The journalists said the cancellation meant the provincial
\nadministration could no longer see what the press wrote about it.
\nThe reporters also questioned the administration's reasoning,
\nsaying there were separate funds for the general election and
\nsports week.<\/p>\n
The reporters demanded the office reveal the true reason
\nbehind its decision.<\/p>\n
The public relations office has an annual budget of Rp 25
\nmillion (US$10,200) for subscriptions to publications.<\/p>\n
Basofi told The Jakarta Post yesterday that he knew little
\nabout the cancellation. \"We must admit, sometimes the content of
\nthese publications is the same,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Post's source at Basofi's office said the administration
\nwas running out of money after it had bought 617 Isuzu Panther
\nvans last August for every subdistrict head in the province as
\npart of a plan to help Golkar's campaign. The provincial
\nlegislature has protested that the vans were bought without its
\napproval. (nur\/swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/e-java-stops-buying-papers-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}