Tempo moves to next level with English version<\/p>\n
Amid tight competition, Tempo magazine launched an English-
\nlanguage version on Sept. 12. With 10,000 copies priced at Rp
\n15,300, it also targets foreign and Indonesian readers overseas.
\nAmong its founders are Tempo chief editor Bambang Harymurti, a
\ngraduate of the Bandung Institute of Technology, majoring in
\nelectric engineering, who holds a masters degree in public policy
\nfrom Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in
\nthe United States. The former executive editor of Media Indonesia
\ntalked recently to The Jakarta Post about the new magazine.<\/p>\n
Question: What was the idea behind Tempo's English version?<\/p>\n
Answer: We have no choice but to move forward. We can't just
\nsit around as the press environment here is already too packed
\nwith Indonesian publications.<\/p>\n
If we stay stagnant, we'll eventually perish.<\/p>\n
We cannot lock away globalization or avoid it. It's coming
\nanyway and we have to be ready. At first, we felt a bit worried,
\nbecause Tempo has a certain language style and we do not want to
\nlose it once it is presented in English.<\/p>\n
But we have to give it our best shot ...<\/p>\n
(Former chief editor) Goenawan Mohammad is among those most
\nconcerned about this. He has a very high language sensitivity.<\/p>\n
Therefore, we carefully picked a translator to be the
\nliterature expert for Sidelines (Goenawan's special column in
\nTempo).<\/p>\n
We also thought that there weren't any Indonesian magazines
\nwhich had penetrated the foreign market.<\/p>\n
In these times, the best defense is offense. And here we go.<\/p>\n
Is there any special goal in publishing the English version?<\/p>\n
Beyond creativity and business calculations, we want to convey
\nan Indonesian perspective to English-speaking readers, not only
\nin Asia and Australia but also in Europe and the United States.<\/p>\n
For instance, there are thousands of Indonesian students
\nabroad, such as in United States or Europe, who want and need
\ninformation about their country, especially since the country is
\nexperiencing a social, political and economic upheaval.<\/p>\n
It is important for the English readers' society to understand
\nwhat's going on in this country through our view.<\/p>\n
Why? Because it is a fact that not many people in Asia know
\nIndonesia well enough to understand the culture, characteristics
\nas well as Indonesian views on social and political affairs.
\n(These issues include) who our President is, why he is sometimes
\nso controversial ... or reports on the widespread unrest or the
\nbombings.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's unstable condition has led to unintended
\nconsequences, one of which is the world's curiosity about our
\ncountry, and this magazine tries to fulfill it by presenting
\nobjective reports through local content.<\/p>\n
The English version is 75 percent local issues and the rest is
\nadjusted to articles that suit readers' interests. In the long
\nrun, we hope that Tempo can be a reference for decision makers,
\nat least in Asia, as they will understand Indonesia better then.<\/p>\n
How much profit is expected?<\/p>\n
We expect to gain about 5 percent on our average annual profit
\nof Rp 5 billion. Based on a survey, 90 percent of our readers are
\nbetween 25 to 55 years old.<\/p>\n
So we hope to reach the English-speaking market with about
\n10,000 to 20,000 copies. The advertisements in the English
\nversion will also be different given the different market.<\/p>\n
There will be many ads from international brands of
\nautomotives, housing, sports, telecommunications and fashion.<\/p>\n
The next step is to hire English-speaking Indonesian
\njournalists to write about certain issues that match our readers'
\nneeds. We also hope to enter into joint ventures with established
\nlocal dailies in Southeast Asia, such as The Nation. We can start
\nby exchanging reports.<\/p>\n
If this edition works, we may start in the future with other
\nschemes, such as creating a Tempo daily.<\/p>\n
Could you describe the process leading to the English version?<\/p>\n
It was rather complicated. There were pros and cons on whether
\nan English edition was needed. The ones who opposed it were
\nmostly concerned about the language adaptation of Tempo (from
\nBahasa Indonesia to English), fearing that if it failed, it would
\ntarnish our image.<\/p>\n
Could the English version represent Tempo's language style?
\nCould people catch the meaning, since Bahasa Indonesia is not as
\nstraight and blunt as English? These were only a few questions
\nrelating to the English version.<\/p>\n
The above debate were similar to the ones on whether Tempo
\nshould be republished after being banned on June 21, 1994. We
\nthen decided through voting and Tempo was finally relaunched in
\nOctober 1998.<\/p>\n
In this case (of the English version), finally the \"pro\" camp
\nwon. Rustam F. Mandayun, one of our editors, is piloting this
\nproject.<\/p>\n
How long did it take to prepare, and what about the staff?<\/p>\n
We prepared it for about five months through a pretrial on
\nTempo Interaktif (website). We have also had three trial print
\nissues, containing an interview with Gus Dur (President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid) and covering the death sentence for a drug
\ndealer and the kidnapping of activists.<\/p>\n
The fourth, our official English edition, the cover story
\ntitled Massacre in Atambua: the Ugly Militias, was launched on
\nSept. 12.<\/p>\n
We have a group of 16 translators living in a number of cities
\noutside Jakarta, including Surakarta, Bandung, Sydney and London.
\nThank God for the online system ... They are paid in rupiah and
\nsome of them are from the Indonesian Observer daily.<\/p>\n
My friends at Reuters also assisted us.<\/p>\n
John McGlynn from the Lontar Foundation (focusing on
\nIndonesian literature) and Janet Steele of George Washington
\nUniversity (who conducted research on Tempo) also helped a lot
\nwith this project. We keep on encouraging the translators to do
\nbetter.<\/p>\n
A simple example of translating problems is the phrase politik
\ndagang sapi which is not the (literal translation) of \"cow
\ntrading\" but \"horse trading\"...<\/p>\n
We are creating an English Tempo style. The English version,
\nhowever, appears two days after the Indonesian edition because it
\ntakes some time to translate.<\/p>\n
You said the country is already packed with Indonesian
\npublications. What should they do to survive?<\/p>\n
I think the current course is decentralization. So the
\nexisting media must be able to produce quality local content that
\nwill attract more readers. Tempo tried to do so by publishing a
\nspecial edition in East Java and North Sumatra in late 1999. The
\nmagazine in this two provinces has a supplement of local
\ncontents.<\/p>\n
I think the prospects for the press industry are still very
\npromising, even though the ones who survive are usually the more
\nestablished publications or magazines under license (adopted from
\nthe original English version).<\/p>\n
Will you be more selective in picking stories for the English
\nversion, for instance omitting hot rumors like the President's
\nalleged affair with Aryanti?<\/p>\n
Well, we will do it on a case by case basis. Of course, we
\nwill not present hear-say reports. In the case of Aryanti, Tempo
\nwas approached by her side during the Annual Session in August.
\nBut we made a judgment, based on the fact that the alleged
\nincident took place five years ago, long before Abdurrahman
\nbecame president.<\/p>\n
As a kyai (religious scholar), Abdurrahman never preached or
\nstated his disagreement with polygamy, and he is not a hypocrite.
\nHe has always promoted democracy. Aryanti said there were certain
\nparties who led her to this \"revelation of the 'affair'\".<\/p>\n
We later found that there might have been efforts to blackmail
\nthe President, which led to the interests of certain parties. So
\nwe chose not to run the story.<\/p>\n
But if it turns out to be something worth reporting, of course
\nwe would publish a comprehensive report on it. (Editha Hartanto).<\/p>",
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