A new face

It was during a conference on the media industry in Hong Kong toward the end of 1996 that we became acquainted with a unique businessman and professional whose work affected the redesign of media publications throughout the world. An American by the name of Roger Black told the conference how his company had helped numerous newspapers and magazines acquire a facelift without losing the traditional traces of those publications. One of the "patients" he was treating at that time was The Straits Times in Singapore.

As The Jakarta Post approaches its 20th anniversary in 2003, there was a strong feeling among the management and editorial staff of the Post that something should be done to uplift the rather tired look of this newspaper. After all, much had changed in our immediate surroundings since this newspaper was born in April 1983. However, the 1997 monetary crisis made it impossible for us to acquire Roger Black's invaluable services, even in conjunction with a larger newspaper such as Kompas, which is one of our partners.

Since the Straits Times succeeded in completing a thorough redesigning and through it has received a more attractive look, such valuable expertise has been acquired. In the spirit of regional cooperation, very much promoted by the establishment of ASEAN, Felix Soh, who is a foreign affairs editor at The Straits Times, has been kind enough to assist the Post in its redesigning efforts.

It is quite interesting to note that while the more senior members of the Post family enthusiastically embraced Felix Soh's initial models of design, it was the younger members who were most reluctant to adopt what they considered a "too popular" approach, thereby diluting the more "serious" posture of the Post.

Out of this intense internal soul-searching we finally came up with an agreed model which you are at present seeing before you. The change, however, involves more than mere cosmetics. During the months that we were discussing alternative designs, the management and editorial staff of The Jakarta Post were also struggling to search for a relevant posture in a changing Indonesia amid a fluid international situation whose conclusion we do not know yet.

Be that as it may, we do welcome any comments and suggestions from our readers, whose support through all these years we genuinely appreciate.