'Tribune' bullish on operations in RI<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Readers' increasing awareness of the
\nrelationship between business and politics is one reason the
\nInternational Herald Tribune is confident of its opportunities in
\nIndonesia, one of the countries worst-hit by the Asian economic
\ncrisis.<\/p>\n
Business executives and government officials in Indonesia need
\nto understand trade wars in the United States and Europe,
\ndevelopments in the World Bank and the International Monetary
\nFund, and the impacts all these developments will have on his or
\nher business and livelihood. And they need this information in
\nthe morning, before their day begins.<\/p>\n
"I don't think we would have seen a Hong Kong businessman
\nworrying about the World Bank last year," Peter Goldmark,
\npresident and CEO of the Tribune, recently said.<\/p>\n
Another reason the Tribune is optimistic about its operations
\nin Indonesia is that 25 percent of its revenue comes from
\nadvertisements from Asia-based companies, and Indonesia is the
\nlargest country in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
"Asia is the major market of the future," Goldmark said.<\/p>\n
The Tribune's revenue peaked a few years ago. Following a drop
\nin revenue of some 20 percent, the paper is seeking a slow
\nreturn, he said.<\/p>\n
Goldmark, a onetime journalist, said he looked forward to the
\ngrowth of Indonesia's "tiny layer" of English speaking decision
\nmakers and business circles subscribing to his newspaper.<\/p>\n
Based on research, it became evident readers wanted their
\npaper first thing in the morning, and so arriving early in the
\nday was the paper's main change, he said.<\/p>\n
Since first being distributed here after securing a permit
\nfrom the Ministry of Information late last year, circulation of
\nthe Tribune has reached 4,000, he said.<\/p>\n
The paper is printed in the capital by PT Gramedia Printing
\nPress and distributed by The Jakarta Post, enabling the paper to
\nreach readers in the morning.<\/p>\n
Because readers no longer have to wait until noon for their
\npaper, Goldmark believes the Tribune will "help decision makers
\nand business people relate global developments to their specific
\nsituations".<\/p>\n
He said circulation would increase "because we think
\nIndonesians want and need a paper like this".<\/p>\n
Goldmark visited the Gramedia printing press early on a Monday
\nmorning and saw "a quite professional crew" printing the paper.
\nThe first pages from Paris arrived about 1 a.m. and on that
\nmorning the paper was off the presses by 2:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
Logging on the Tribune web site is free, but Goldmark believes
\npeople still need to read the paper. "People don't read on the
\nNet, they use it to find things."<\/p>\n
Because of the economic crisis here, Goldmark declined to give
\na circulation target but indicated the Tribune was here to stay.
\n"We'll just see in the next 10 years."<\/p>\n
In Singapore, where business information is at a premium, the
\nTribune's "tiny layer" of English speaking decision makers and
\nbusinesspeople is 6,000. The Tribune's targeted readership is far
\nlower than that of local papers, he said, which was why the price
\nof the paper was higher.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has the fourth largest circulation of the Tribune in
\nAsia after Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Goldmark said the potential for news in Indonesia was only one
\nreason to distribute directly in the country, adding the Tribune
\nwas "betting on the future, on how history would be unfolding
\nhere".<\/p>\n
The strength of his paper, Goldmark says, is its network of
\ncorrespondents from The Washington Post and The New York Times,
\nboth of which jointly own the Tribune.<\/p>\n
Goldmark said the Tribune's main competitors here were the
\nAsian Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and a number of
\nweeklies.<\/p>\n
Goldmark, who ran the Rockefeller Foundation for 10 years
\nbefore coming to the Tribune, also touched on readers' trust in
\nthe accuracy of the paper's coverage. "Where do you think prime
\nministers in Europe first learned of the Asian crisis," Goldmark
\nsaid, citing the paper's early reports on the fall of the Thai
\nbaht.<\/p>\n
Goldmark, no stranger to Indonesia following a number of
\nvisits here during his tenure at the Rockefeller, however, is
\nonly beginning to learn about the crisis.<\/p>\n
Sitting in a hotel lobby he asked, "What does the krismon
\nreally mean to people here?" (anr)<\/p>",
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