'Kompas' at 35<\/p>\n
In those parts of the world where freedom of expression has
\nlong been regarded as a major pillar of democracy, 35 years may
\nnot be such a long time for a newspaper to survive. In Indonesia,
\nhowever, where that same freedom existed for less than a decade
\nduring the early days of the country's independence -- only to be
\nrepressed during the late 1950s, and revived once again with the
\ndawning of the current reform era -- to have survived for that
\nlong may be regarded as quite an accomplishment.<\/p>\n
In that span of time, scores of newspapers and periodicals
\nhave perished, having suffered a normal death either because of
\ninternal and financial difficulties, or being closed down by the
\ngovernment on the pretext of \"irresponsible reporting\".<\/p>\n
That is why Kompas, Indonesia's biggest-selling newspaper to
\ndate, deserves our sincere congratulations for having reached the
\nage of 35, a milestone it celebrated in the past few days with
\nseveral public events. Established on June 28, 1965, the
\nnewspaper was founded to provide some kind of balance to the
\nhighly partisan style of reporting by newspapers, many of which
\nduring those years were either owned or controlled by political
\nparties, such as the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), the
\nIndonesian National Party (PNI) or others.<\/p>\n
This it did by striving to serve its readers with all the news
\nthat was fit to print, factually but responsibly, which at that
\ntime meant that it had to be careful about the manner in which a
\nnews story was conveyed to the public. One of the principles the
\nnewspaper's management adopted was that it was better to be able
\nto report a limited version of the truth in order to survive,
\nrather than be closed down and not to be able to report at all.<\/p>\n
The result was the kind of oblique language that not everyone
\nfinds easy to understand and for which Indonesian newspapers
\nunder the New Order, and Kompas in particular, have been known
\never since. Not everyone may be happy with such a style of
\nreporting, but the fact is that it has served Kompas well. Only
\nonce, in 1978, was the newspaper muffled, for 16 days.<\/p>\n
It is wrong and unfair, though, to conclude, that it was this
\ncareful style of treading that enabled Kompas to survive and
\ngrow. In reality, that was the complementary factor. In
\nretrospect, it may be true to say that the majority of its
\nreaders -- who are Indonesians, after all -- see no objection to
\nsuch a style, as witnessed in the newspaper's phenomenal growth.
\nA much more important factor that has contributed to the
\nnewspaper's success is what is known as meritocracy -- a style of
\nmanagement that is based on merit.<\/p>\n
For Kompas and other newspapers in this country, the advent of
\na new era of democratic reforms is bringing both new challenges
\nand new opportunities. It takes good management, however, to take
\nadvantage of both. Kompas' achievements over the past 35 years
\ncan be a lesson to others on how to manage a newspaper and lead
\nit toward success.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kompas-at-35-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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