Editors demand minimum wage for journalists<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): The government should introduce a minimum wage
\nfor journalists and refuse license applications if publishers are
\nsuspected of being unable to pay their journalists properly, a
\nsenior journalist has suggested.<\/p>\n
Jakob Oetama, the president of the Gramedia publishing group,
\nmade the suggestion at a discussion here yesterday. His proposal
\nwas warmly received by the audience of mostly journalists.<\/p>\n
Many publishers are unable to pay their journalists adequate
\nwages.<\/p>\n
Jacob, who is also chief editor of the Kompas daily, said it
\nwas ironic that the press often criticized reports of minimum
\nwage violations while neglecting the welfare its own workers.<\/p>\n
Quoting management guru Stephen R. Covey, Jacob said everyone
\nwants the same thing from their employers.<\/p>\n
\"They are saying 'pay me well, treat me well, use me well',
\nand they want principle centered management,\" Jacob said.<\/p>\n
The four demands are inseparable, he said.<\/p>\n
Jacob, however, placed greater importance on the fourth point.<\/p>\n
\"It's what motivates employees,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He described the industry as a meeting of ideas and facts.
\n\"The media business is one which is filled with ideas. Without
\nthe ability to present fresh ideas, we stop being journalists,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Jacob also stressed the need for cooperation and the
\ndecentralization of authority in the press industry.<\/p>\n
\"The press should never be trapped in a bureaucratic mire,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Profession<\/p>\n
Other speakers included Tribuana Said, chief editor of
\nJakarta's Merdeka daily, Abdul Razak from the Indonesian
\nJournalists' Association, and Atang Ruswita of Bandung's Pikiran
\nRakyat daily.<\/p>\n
The editors expressed similar opinions, with one stressing
\nthat \"journalism is not only a job. It's a profession.\"<\/p>\n
\"It's a profession with vision, values and missions. Which is
\nwhy we cannot discuss journalists' welfare in the same manner as
\nwe discuss workers' welfare,\" one speaker said.<\/p>\n
\"There is certain values contained in this profession that
\nputs it a notch above other professions,\" insisted another.<\/p>\n
All speakers agreed that the welfare of journalists' should be
\nimproved.<\/p>\n
\"If you pay peanuts, you'll get monkeys,\" Abdul Razak
\nconcluded. \"Press companies which pay their journalists measly
\namounts will have slapdash publications.\"<\/p>\n
Dahlan Iskan, the president of the Jawa Pos publishing group,
\nspoke of the positioning dilemma all editorial boards faced.<\/p>\n
\"If it's placed separately from the whole structure of the
\ncompany, it's not right, because the boards are indeed part of
\nthe company,\" he said. \"But tell me where editorial boards' fit
\nin...in production, marketing or finance?\"<\/p>\n
\"This unique position is to blame if sometimes members of the
\nboards, including the journalists, feel they are superior to
\nother employees,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the journalists' association, Sofjan Lubis,
\nand his colleague Sondang Meliala promised to study the
\ndiscussion's results. (17\/31\/swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/editors-demand-minimum-wage-for-journalists-1447893297",
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