Jakartans get 'Djakarta!' life magazine

Jakartans get 'Djakarta!' life magazine

By Charlie Stevens

JAKARTA (JP): The appearance on Sunday of the new city life
magazine Djakarta! is occasion for cautious hope in a city
struggling with a post-New Order identity crisis. But if the
optimism and determination of the magazine's founder and editor,
Daniel Ziv, are anything to go by, then Sunday may be the launch
of something bigger than just another monthly rag.

Despite a population large enough to dwarf most world
capitals, Jakarta does not enjoy the same global cultural status
as other metropolitan centers, unless it's the riot-dodging
Molotov-style of glam you're after.

But to the city's residents, there is the sense that Jakarta
is a much deeper place. That beyond the billboards and concrete
flyovers there is a world largely ignored by the city's media.

"Most people only see Jakarta on the surface and along its
main thoroughfares. As soon as you go down below the underpasses
and into the lower levels, life becomes completely different,"
said Daniel.

A doctrine of ikut ikutan (following others) and of consensus
at any price are one of the legacies of the New Order regime that
remains a sticking point for a lot of magazines and tabloids
here. This has created a monotony in the media landscape and a
glaring opportunity to fill what is, according to Daniel, an
obvious gap in the market.

"People were brought into that understanding through 32 years
of New Order rule and until today the local media still reflects
that in the sense that most magazines are doing the same thing.
Restaurant reviews are actually just advertorials, film reviews
are, more often than not, merely a synopsis and even fashion is
label-obsessed in the shallowest manner with no regard for
concept or creativity," said Daniel.

"We want to talk about what's real in the city, both the ugly
and the beautiful. Always telling it how it is and always within
a context and not just snapshots. We're not trying to fool anyone
that this city is the epitome of the charming tourist paradise."

Daniel, a native of Canada, has been careful to sidestep the
expatriate and tourist magazine genre which has had a healthy
representation in Jakarta for many years.

"In terms of language, we have a mix of both English and
Indonesian so that everybody can feel comfortable with the
magazine. But our target readership is primarily Indonesians and
we want the magazine to have a local feel. We use local slang and
nuances to the point that tourists might have to struggle to keep
up, which is the mark of a real city magazine," he says. "To
that end, we've been careful about keeping the staff entirely
Indonesian."

Topics range from social issues and city scandals to
underground clubbing and fringe theater. One feature in the
premiere issue follows around a 13-year-old bus poet and offers a
glimpse into his world. Another article raises questions of
employee exploitation at a certain restaurant chain.

Another niche Djakarta! hopes to fill is that of a reliable,
commentary-rich source of event and venue information.

"We've put together a comprehensive monthly listings guide on
everything from restaurants, bars and karaoke clubs to rock
concerts, art exhibits and children's events," he said.

"When we first started gathering material and contacted local
restaurants and businesses, many of them refused to cooperate
unless we promised to publish the contents of their official
press releases. They couldn't understand why we wanted to examine
their products and services for ourselves. That's a culture we're
hoping to change - that businesses are not immune to critical
analysis," said Ziv. "And of course we plan to sing the praises
of services and businesses that do offer good value for money."

An indication of what to expect from this self-confessed
spokesrag for the city's sun-starved corners can be garnered from
the magazine's lineup, which includes Wimar Witoelar -- currently
President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's spokesman but better
known as an noted talk show host of the New Order era -- the
controversial novelist Ayu Utami and a former editor-in-chief of
Jakarta Jakarta magazine and prize-winning columnist for Kompas
daily, Seno Gumira Ajidarma.