Press industry faces tough competition<\/p>\n
Profits in the Indonesian press industry in Indonesia are
\nincreasing to such an extent that several non-media conglomerates
\nwere attracted to muscle their way into it. The Jakarta Post's
\nteam of reporters Johannes Simbolon, Christiani A. Tumelap,
\nAloysius Unditu, K. Basrie, Kornelius Purba, and Lukman
\nNatanegara delved into the issue. A related story is on page 9.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The young man was torn between the patriotic
\ncalling of a military career or following his heart as a
\njournalist.<\/p>\n
It was the late 1940s and Indonesia was fighting for
\nindependence against the Dutch colonial administration.<\/p>\n
He sought advice from Adam Malik, a journalist who would later
\nbecome Indonesia's minister of foreign affairs and vice
\npresident.<\/p>\n
\"Many people have chosen to struggle with guns, but few with
\npens,\" Adam told the West Sumatra native. \"Why should you go
\nthere (the military)? This (journalism) is no less important.\"<\/p>\n
Mochtar Lubis took Adam's advice and the rest, as they say, is
\njournalism history -- he is one of Indonesia's most respected
\njournalists.<\/p>\n
Nearly a half century later, budding Mochtars find themselves
\ntussling with issues of career path and salary, not idealistic
\nnotions of struggle.<\/p>\n
Some are still obsessed with promoting justice and democracy,
\nwhich they continue to champion as the main mission of the press.
\nBu they must tread carefully through the minefield of tight
\ncensorship and the threat of closure by the government.<\/p>\n
\"Now, the slogan for the Indonesian press is not 'berani mati'
\n(dare to die) but 'berani hidup' (dare to live), 'tetap kritis'
\n(maintain a critical attitude) and 'tidak konyol' (not quixotic),\"
\nsaid columnist and head of the Indonesian Business Data Center
\nChristianto Wibisono.<\/p>\n
In a tough competitive market, Indonesia's press is focusing
\nmore on staying in business than noble visions of being the
\nstandard bearer of truth.<\/p>\n
This survivalist attitude became a necessity following two
\nmass bannings of publications in the 1970s, Daniel Dhakidae
\nargued in his Cornell University dissertation The State, the Rise
\nof Capital and the Fall of Political Journalism: Political
\nEconomy of Indonesian News Industry.<\/p>\n
Dhakidae said the closures, which left hundreds of journalists
\ndisillusioned and jobless, taught the Indonesian press a bitter
\nlesson of the foolhardiness of putting \"all their eggs in one
\nbasket\".<\/p>\n
'Safety net'<\/p>\n
The press recouped through expanding and diversifying into
\nother business sectors, laying out a \"safety net\" in the event a
\npublication was closed. Expansion also translates into publishing
\nmore newspapers and magazines.<\/p>\n
The government's decision in 1981 to ban advertisements on
\nstate-owned television station TVRI also revitalized the battered
\npress sector.<\/p>\n
The resulting surge in advertising revenues enabled several
\nmajor press companies to realize their expansion plans.<\/p>\n
But the golden days of huge advertising earnings for the press
\ncame to an abrupt halt in 1990 with the debut of Indonesia's
\nfirst private TV channel, Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia
\n(RCTI).<\/p>\n
Several publications, including Kompas Gramedia, Jawa Pos, Pos
\nKota, the Suara Pembaruan, Media Indonesia, Femina and Suara
\nMerdeka, are giant business groups in their own right.<\/p>\n
The most successful are Kompas Gramedia and Jawa Pos, which
\nbetween them control 54 of the 297 newspapers, tabloids and
\nmagazines printed nationwide.<\/p>\n
Kompas Gramedia owns Indonesia's biggest daily Kompas, with
\ncirculation of 519,000, and at least 27 provincial papers,
\nmagazines and tabloids. It owns the country's top selling
\npublications, among them the children's magazine Bobo, Nova
\nwomen's weekly and Bola sports tabloid.<\/p>\n
Its wealth does not stop with the media; it also owns Media
\nBank and the Santika Group hotel chain.<\/p>\n
PT Kompas Media Nusantara was the only media company among the
\n200 biggest taxpayers in Indonesia last year. It ranked 41, five
\nplaces ahead of RCTI, the largest television network.<\/p>\n
The Jawa Pos group's flagship publication is Jawa Pos, the
\nlargest daily outside Jakarta with a circulation of 360,000. It
\nalso operates 26 provincial papers, five tabloids and two
\nmagazines.<\/p>\n
The group's business strategy has centered on taking over and
\nrevamping floundering regional newspapers. This scheme has proven
\nmore effective than hoping against hope for the government to
\nease up on strict restrictions on the issuance of new publishing
\nlicenses (SIUPP).<\/p>\n
Although the advent of private television stations did slash
\nits advertising revenues, the press business remains attractive.
\nData from Media Scene 1996-1997 shows newspapers and magazines
\nreaped Rp 1.47 trillion, or 35.5 percent, of the Rp 4.14 trillion
\nadvertising expenditures in 1996. The five private TV channels --
\nRCTI, SCTV, Indosiar, TPI, ANteve -- garnered Rp 2.2 trillion, or
\n53.2 percent.<\/p>\n
Conglomerates<\/p>\n
The past decade has been marked by the entry of new, non-media
\nconglomerates into the press business, including those owned by
\nBob Hasan, Sudwikatmono, Aburizal Bakrie and Abdul Latief.<\/p>\n
Is the lure of handsome profits too good to resist?<\/p>\n
\"Generally speaking, the press is a business opportunity which
\nsimultaneously offers prestige to those involved in it,\" said
\nJakob Oetama, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Newspaper
\nPublishers and chief editor of Kompas. \"The press has prestigious
\nnon-business value because it has commitment towards value,
\nfights for justice and so on.\"<\/p>\n
Dhakidae said print media was still not as profitable as other
\nbusiness sectors in Indonesia because it had not received the
\nsame investment.<\/p>\n
But businesses realize the importance of the print media and
\nthe influence it can have on diverse aspects of their operations.<\/p>\n
\"That's the way the capitalists view the press business,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Dhakidae said the entrance of non-press conglomerates had
\nraised the stakes for all participants as \"the circulation of
\nmost papers has been stagnant over the past 10 years\".<\/p>\n
The only course of action for publishers is to woo readers
\nfrom competitors, he added.<\/p>\n
But it may turn out to be a case of survival of the fittest
\nas advertisers show a growing preference for electronic media.<\/p>\n
\"What will happen next is that only three to four press
\nbusinesses will survive as healthy and profitable business
\ngroups, while the rest will collapse,\" Dhakidae said.<\/p>",
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