German magazine for intercultural dialogue with Indonesia<\/p>\n
Christina Schott, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
If it where not for terrorism or natural disasters like the
\ntsunami, Indonesia would rarely fill the headlines of German
\nmedia.<\/p>\n
Even the popular travel stories on Bali became rare after the
\nbomb attacks that have occurred in the archipelago over past
\nyears.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, an Indonesian and a German journalist put their
\nknowledge together to found a special interest magazine,
\nPanorama, monthly published from their own small publishing
\ncompany starting one and a half years ago.<\/p>\n
The various topics of the partly bilingual magazine are of the
\nkind one usually does not find in German press -- travel stories
\nfrom Dieng Plateau to Komodo island, artist portraits from Raden
\nSaleh to W.S. Rendra, social reports from the life of rickshaw
\ndrivers to the activities of Islamic women's organizations.<\/p>\n
Among the contributors are German journalists and academics
\nwith particular knowledge of Indonesia as well as some Indonesian
\nwriters. In its service part, every issue includes news of
\nIndonesia-related events in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, a
\nstep-by-step language course and Indonesian recipes from the
\nmasterly cook Musta In.<\/p>\n
\"The first idea was born a few years ago, at the birthday
\nparty of a friend who has always been crazy about Asia,\" Michael
\nLaser, editor-in-chief and founder of Panorama, said.<\/p>\n
\"I met for the first time several Indonesians, who soon became
\npart of my circle of friends. I was curious to learn more about
\nthe somehow mysterious culture of their far-away country.\"<\/p>\n
So grew the idea of a project about Indonesia. By that time,
\n47-year-old Laser had already worked for a long time as a
\nfreelance journalist and published a magazine about Greece
\ntogether with a Greek colleague living in Berlin for more than
\nten years.<\/p>\n
So, nothing seemed more obvious than creating a magazine about
\nIndonesia; all the more, since there was no other regular media
\non Indonesia published in the German language.<\/p>\n
The difficulty was to find an Indonesian counterpart to fill
\nthe lack of insider knowledge and contacts on the spot. This is
\nwhere Musta In got into the venture at the end of 2003.<\/p>\n
\"I met Michael by accident when he was visiting Borobodur on a
\nresearch trip. By that time, I was working as a travel guide. He
\nmentioned his plans for Panorama and I was immediately
\nenthusiastic for the idea,\" said the former music editor from
\nMagelang.<\/p>\n
\"I saw all the German tourists coming to Borobodur and
\ntherefore knew about the basic interest of Germans in Indonesia,
\nhowever I could not really believe that this interest would be
\nenough for a special magazine on Indonesia in the German
\nlanguage.\"<\/p>\n
However, the 32-year-old bachelor agreed to travel to Berlin
\nto help with the start of the project. Two trips and several
\nissues later, he decided to stay in Germany and even took over
\nthe responsibility for the small publishing company in his name.<\/p>\n
\"It is terrific to be able to work independently in a foreign
\ncountry, even more since my work is all about my own country, my
\norigins -- that makes me really happy,\" Musta In said.<\/p>\n
The basic message of Panorama is an intercultural dialogue for
\nbetter understanding and knowledge between Indonesia and Germany
\nby fair and rather nonpolitical coverage. The target group is a
\nreadership in that is interested in Indonesia -- either because
\nthey have already a personal or professional connection with the
\ncountry or because they are keen on discovering another culture.
\nOverseas subscriptions in Indonesia are available as well. To
\nsupport the interaction between different readers, the magazine
\njust started a new website and a service with news about
\nIndonesia-related activities in and from German-speaking
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
One of the most difficult parts of the work is to connect
\nthese different reader communities interested in Indonesia.
\nPanorama is exclusively distributed by subscription and depends
\non mouth-to-mouth marketing, since the budget is not yet big
\nenough for advertising.<\/p>\n
\"Although promotion is hard work, the number of our clients
\nrises slowly but constantly,\" Michael Laser says.<\/p>\n
\"In times of information overkill, it is definitely not easy
\nto convince people to bind themselves permanently to a new media.
\nBut this is the basis of our existence. In a long term, we
\nwant to establish ourselves as a special interest magazine, which
\npeople here automatically think of, when they hear the word
\nIndonesia.\"<\/p>\n
Also due to the small budget, Panorama is printed in
\nblack-and-white. Nevertheless, feedback by subscribers is
\noverwhelmingly positive: \"Who cares about color, as long as I
\ncould not find such detailed reports on the situation of the
\npeople in Aceh in any other German media,\" a reader stated in an
\nemail after receiving the special issue about the tsunami at
\nthe beginning of this year. Other special issues were published
\nlast year about Borobodur and Ponorogo, their history, art and
\nculture.<\/p>\n
\"This project requires a lot of passion, curiosity and a big
\nportion of idealism. Since the start of Panorama, we have not had
\nany holidays. But we are repaid by the gratitude of our German
\nreaders and especially by the warmth of the Indonesians, which
\nhelps a lot to sometimes forget the tough daily working life in
\nGermany,\" Laser and Musta In both agreed.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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