Editors demand minimum wage for journalists

BANDUNG (JP): The government should introduce a minimum wage for journalists and refuse license applications if publishers are suspected of being unable to pay their journalists properly, a senior journalist has suggested.

Jakob Oetama, the president of the Gramedia publishing group, made the suggestion at a discussion here yesterday. His proposal was warmly received by the audience of mostly journalists.

Many publishers are unable to pay their journalists adequate wages.

Jacob, who is also chief editor of the Kompas daily, said it was ironic that the press often criticized reports of minimum wage violations while neglecting the welfare its own workers.

Quoting management guru Stephen R. Covey, Jacob said everyone wants the same thing from their employers.

"They are saying 'pay me well, treat me well, use me well', and they want principle centered management," Jacob said.

The four demands are inseparable, he said.

Jacob, however, placed greater importance on the fourth point.

"It's what motivates employees," he said.

He described the industry as a meeting of ideas and facts. "The media business is one which is filled with ideas. Without the ability to present fresh ideas, we stop being journalists," he said.

Jacob also stressed the need for cooperation and the decentralization of authority in the press industry.

"The press should never be trapped in a bureaucratic mire," he said.

Profession

Other speakers included Tribuana Said, chief editor of Jakarta's Merdeka daily, Abdul Razak from the Indonesian Journalists' Association, and Atang Ruswita of Bandung's Pikiran Rakyat daily.

The editors expressed similar opinions, with one stressing that "journalism is not only a job. It's a profession."

"It's a profession with vision, values and missions. Which is why we cannot discuss journalists' welfare in the same manner as we discuss workers' welfare," one speaker said.

"There is certain values contained in this profession that puts it a notch above other professions," insisted another.

All speakers agreed that the welfare of journalists' should be improved.

"If you pay peanuts, you'll get monkeys," Abdul Razak concluded. "Press companies which pay their journalists measly amounts will have slapdash publications."

Dahlan Iskan, the president of the Jawa Pos publishing group, spoke of the positioning dilemma all editorial boards faced.

"If it's placed separately from the whole structure of the company, it's not right, because the boards are indeed part of the company," he said. "But tell me where editorial boards' fit in...in production, marketing or finance?"

"This unique position is to blame if sometimes members of the boards, including the journalists, feel they are superior to other employees," he said.

The chairman of the journalists' association, Sofjan Lubis, and his colleague Sondang Meliala promised to study the discussion's results. (17/31/swe)