Golkar gives 'Suara Karya' a makeover<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
After 32 years as the mouthpiece of the ruling Golkar Party
\nduring the Soeharto regime, the Suara Karya daily is changing its
\nlook and content in a bid to attract more readers.<\/p>\n
Golkar, led by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, relaunched the
\nnewspaper on Wednesday evening at the Mulia Hotel in Jakarta,
\nvowing not to use the daily to serve its political interests.<\/p>\n
"The paper should be acceptable to all elements of society.
\nOur vision is to report the news accurately. The news must not be
\nbiased toward the party's interests, even though the paper
\nbelongs to Golkar," Edward Seki Soeryadjaya, the new business
\nmanager of the paper, said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
"I do not believe anybody is willing to spend thousands of
\nrupiah just to be brainwashed," he added.<\/p>\n
Edward, a businessman and a Golkar deputy treasurer, said the
\npaper would no longer serve the party's interests, but would
\ninstead focus on attracting policymakers and businesspeople.<\/p>\n
He said the 16-page newspaper planned to upgrade the skills of
\nits reporters and eventually expand to 20 pages.<\/p>\n
"We will also publish on holidays and add more colored pages
\nto attract a new segment of readers. To do that, we will recruit
\n30 more journalists to support our editorial staff," said Bambang
\nSoesatyo, the paper's new chief editor.<\/p>\n
As the sole owner of the daily, Golkar is authorized to
\nappoint the paper's management. On Feb. 17, Golkar leader Kalla
\nannounced that party official Theo L. Sambuaga would be the
\nnewspaper's new president director.<\/p>\n
Bambang Soesatyo, Theo's deputy in Golkar's information,
\ncommunication and telecommunications department, was named the
\npaper's new editor-in-chief, replacing Bambang Sudono.<\/p>\n
Suara Karya was first published on March 11, 1971, when Golkar
\nwas contesting its first general elections. During the Soeharto
\nyears, civil servants made up the bulk of the paper's readership,
\nas they were unofficially obliged to buy Suara Karya.<\/p>\n
Following the 1998 downfall of Soeharto, the paper's
\ncirculation dropped sharply to 3,000 from 300,000.<\/p>\n
Edward said the paper now published 80,000 copies daily, a
\nreflection of Golkar's returning popularity. The party received
\nthe most votes in the 2004 general election.<\/p>\n
Analysts have speculated that Suara Karya could be used to
\npromote Golkar's candidates in upcoming local elections, as the
\nparty aims to win 60 percent of regional leadership posts across
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
Edward, however, said the newspaper would not give free space
\nto Golkar candidates.<\/p>\n
"If they want to campaign for themselves through us, they have
\nto advertise, just like other candidates," he said. (006)<\/p>",
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