'Latitudes' attempts to enlighten readers

By I Wayan Juniarta

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): What would a writer typically do if he/she is getting fed up of having to sacrifice his/her seemingly ever-flowing ideas and inspiration just to be able to put up with the limited space and taste of, say, a newspaper? Not to mention having to endure the pain of reading his/her 'beautiful' piece of work after being chopped up, re-edited, and re-written in the editorial table in publication.

Quit writing, perhaps?

Well, Balinese writer Degung Santikarma refused outright to quit speaking, writing, and voicing his ideas. Instead of being a quitter, this long-haired anthropologist decided to give himself a promotion he thought he dully deserved; from writer to chief editor of an enlighteningly alternative magazine.

Being an editor in chief would mean that you might have almost unlimited authority to select what kind of stories and articles you want to run in your magazine.

Yet, to be able to become a magazine editor in chief you have to have a magazine first. That's the reason behind the birth of Latitudes, the first Bali-based international monthly English magazine.

"It is hard to find any established magazines that are willing to hire me, let alone give me the editor in chief's position. So the only viable solution is publishing my, our, own magazine," Degung said.

That's, of course, just a joke. There were more important reasons behind the birth of the glossy magazine than just to give Degung a weapon to "terrorize" fanatic readers.

"We want to give the readers something fresh, a magazine that dwells on the things that no other magazine has ever thought of presenting before. The kind of magazine that provides high quality material, both in its content and presentation," Degung said.

Degung himself has been well-known, at least in Bali, as a writer-intellectual, who possesses a sharp mind and a very distinctive way of viewing and comprehending reality.

His thought-provoking and critical writings (sometimes his pieces can also be very entertaining), which are infused with satirical arguments appear regularly in The Jakarta Post, Bali Post, Bali Echo, and other media publications.

Latitudes' board of editors also boasts several other important names, such as the avid social researcher John MacDougall, and the talented photographer Rama Surya.

"We print around 20,000 copies per edition, and some 20 percent of it will be distributed to the USA, Europe,and Australia. Expatriates, foreign visitors, frequent travelers, and concerned Indonesians are our specific target market," Degung explained. So, Latitudes was born. With a very catchy subtitle views from 6 degree above to 11 degree below the equator this magazine aims at combining academic endeavors with the lighter side of life.

Each month the magazine will present pieces on social issues, politics, life style, arts and culture, expatriates, and, of course, traveling and leisure.

"To be able to present an issue in a fresh and different way we carefully pick and choose our writer. Our common method is approaching a prominent scholar and then ask him or her to write a piece on something he or she has never written about before," Degung said.

With a wide grin on his face he recalled the time when he approached Indonesia's distinguished scholar Onghokham and asked him to write a feature on the history of tempeh.

"He was at the same time both very surprised and thrilled to be given that assignment," Degung recalled.

On the premier issue of Latitudes noted scholars Myra Sidharta and Ariel Heryanto presented their thoughts on the Indonesian- Chinese predicament, while Dede Oetomo wrote on gay culture in Indonesia. This issue also presents pieces by Goenawan Mohamad and Putu Oka Sukanta. There is also a feature by noted arts critic Dwi Marianto on tattooing in Indonesia.

And, of course, there is a 5 pages feature titled The Burden of Being Exotic, a very amusing story on being a Balinese in a very touristic world by, guess who, none other than Degung Santikarma.

"This magazine is very interesting," Bali's prominent scholar LK Suryani praised Latitudes.

Of course, there are people complaining about the content of the magazine, which they claim is too-heavy for the layman.

Yet, an array of prominent writers, a pile of dramatic photos, and a well-planned and meticulously-executed visual presentation, do not automatically place a magazine, or any magazine, on the best-seller list.

"Writing a good story is, sorry to say, easy. Getting an advertisement is painfully more difficult. So is marketing the magazine to the targeted market," Degung admitted.

Being easy going as usual, he grinned again before lashing out his joke.

"I am not an editor in chief but an 'editor in cheap'; meaning at this point of time I succumb to the capitalist world of media publishing, where you need lot and lots of advertisements and money to make it possible to keep printing your magazine," Degung sneered.