'Dirty' tabloids clean up at newsstand

Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

They vie for space with women's magazines and gossip rags at sidewalk newsstands, but who reads those smutty tabloids?

It's perhaps no surprise that vendors said most buyers were young men, such as students or employees. Their price, ranging from Rp 2,000 to Rp 4,000, is affordable for most people.

"The sales are better than general magazines or gossip tabloids. We don't provide many of them here but we're always sold out," a newsstand attendant in Depok said recently.

The publications are in demand, and the business has led the publishing companies to clean up in profits.

"How can we survive after all these years with many competitors if it's not good business?" said Ferry from Lipstik tabloid.

"Up to now we are publishing our 90th edition. All the issues always sell out."

Although he did not know the exact number of copies printed weekly, he said the circulation was nationwide, even reaching Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara and also towns in Irian Jaya and Sumatra, including staunchly Muslim Aceh.

Ferry defended the tabloid against the accusation it was porn. "No genitals are shown or detailed stories on sexual intercourse are run," he said.

In fact, Lipstik and similar tabloids like Pop Indonesia, X- Tra and Bos Best, run bizarre, graphic stories about sex, some with rape scenarios.

Editorial staffer Marlisa said X-Tra printed 45,000 copies weekly which were circulated throughout Java and Bali.

Four or five years ago, it was almost impossible to find such tabloids out in the open on newsstands. Under Soeharto, the government could easily ban or revoke the publishing license of certain media if they fell out of favor, not only for political content but for ethical issues, too.

With Soeharto's fall, the obligation for media owners to obtain a license before publication could begin was scrapped.

Media control, which should be done by the Press Council, is actually difficult to enforce because many tabloids operate under unclear status and do not carry complete contact addresses.

Press Council chairman Atmakusumah said the police must take stern measures because such publications breached the Criminal Code and moreover they were available in public places.

However, women's rights activist Gadis Arivia said a ban would not work. Instead, it would be more effective to regulate where adults-only tabloids could be obtained.

"Banning such publications will only cause more violations, such as bribery from the tabloid owners to police, but, worse, it also makes our people hypocrites."