Golkar gives 'Suara Karya' a makeover
Golkar gives 'Suara Karya' a makeover
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After 32 years as the mouthpiece of the ruling Golkar Party
during the Soeharto regime, the Suara Karya daily is changing its
look and content in a bid to attract more readers.
Golkar, led by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, relaunched the
newspaper on Wednesday evening at the Mulia Hotel in Jakarta,
vowing not to use the daily to serve its political interests.
"The paper should be acceptable to all elements of society.
Our vision is to report the news accurately. The news must not be
biased toward the party's interests, even though the paper
belongs to Golkar," Edward Seki Soeryadjaya, the new business
manager of the paper, said on Tuesday.
"I do not believe anybody is willing to spend thousands of
rupiah just to be brainwashed," he added.
Edward, a businessman and a Golkar deputy treasurer, said the
paper would no longer serve the party's interests, but would
instead focus on attracting policymakers and businesspeople.
He said the 16-page newspaper planned to upgrade the skills of
its reporters and eventually expand to 20 pages.
"We will also publish on holidays and add more colored pages
to attract a new segment of readers. To do that, we will recruit
30 more journalists to support our editorial staff," said Bambang
Soesatyo, the paper's new chief editor.
As the sole owner of the daily, Golkar is authorized to
appoint the paper's management. On Feb. 17, Golkar leader Kalla
announced that party official Theo L. Sambuaga would be the
newspaper's new president director.
Bambang Soesatyo, Theo's deputy in Golkar's information,
communication and telecommunications department, was named the
paper's new editor-in-chief, replacing Bambang Sudono.
Suara Karya was first published on March 11, 1971, when Golkar
was contesting its first general elections. During the Soeharto
years, civil servants made up the bulk of the paper's readership,
as they were unofficially obliged to buy Suara Karya.
Following the 1998 downfall of Soeharto, the paper's
circulation dropped sharply to 3,000 from 300,000.
Edward said the paper now published 80,000 copies daily, a
reflection of Golkar's returning popularity. The party received
the most votes in the 2004 general election.
Analysts have speculated that Suara Karya could be used to
promote Golkar's candidates in upcoming local elections, as the
party aims to win 60 percent of regional leadership posts across
the country.
Edward, however, said the newspaper would not give free space
to Golkar candidates.
"If they want to campaign for themselves through us, they have
to advertise, just like other candidates," he said. (006)