Media gets by on fewer pages, lights off, no chili sauce

By Christiani S. A. Tumelap

JAKARTA (JP): Journalists on many occasions rank as "untouchables" because of the privileges attached to their profession.

Sadly, this is not true for the media they work for.

Newspapers, magazines and TV stations have proven to be acutely vulnerable in the onslaught of the economic crisis.

Publishers warn the industry is only just beginning to feel the effects of the shocking surge of the U.S. dollar.

"The crisis and the fluctuation... will keep threatening the continuation of the publishing business," Tommy Tamtomo, a managing editor at Republika daily, said, referring to the rise in paper and other printing materials, and a sharp drop in advertisements.

Imam Baskoro, vice general manager of the men's lifestyle monthly, Matra, said production costs had risen by 60 percent, from Rp 3,200 a copy in June last year to Rp 5,350.

Chief editor of leading women's weekly magazine Femina, Widarti Gunawan, said the company was considering using cheaper imported paper.

"But the paper will still be of a good grade," she told The Jakarta Post. "We'll keep on using imported paper because it is much better than the local types."

Widarti said the decision was strictly practical. Imported paper is more resistant against stretching and ripping during the printing process, she said.

The newsstand price of Femina, which has suffered a 40 percent drop in its ad revenues, will be increased to Rp 7,000 next week from Rp 6,000. The latter price took effect in December, a hike from Rp 5,000.

Femina has several sister publications: Dewi which focuses on fashion, Ayahbunda for young parents and Sartika on health.

Widarti said Ayahbunda, which never relied on ads as a major source of revenue, was probably the least affected. "That's why it can still survive ... "

Cutting pages has been embraced as an efficient survival strategy.

Republika now has 16 pages -- down from 20 pages in regular editions and 24 on Sundays -- with fewer color graphics. Its front page is now black and white.

"We've also scrapped consigning copies to reduce production costs," Tommy said.

Its circulation has dropped by about 15,000 to 150,000.

Even the nation's most established newspaper, Kompas, has trimmed down, from 24 pages to 16.

But the public relations director of the Kompas-Gramedia Group, Julius Pour, said circulation was up.

"There was, instead, an indication of a slight increase. Maybe more people are buying newspapers to get information on the latest conditions, including riots..."

The reduction in the number of pages was necessary to compensate for the stronger dollar, the rise in all operations' costs and the drop in ad placements, Julius said.

"Kompas has lost up to 50 percent of its ads," he said.

Femina, whose circulation has slumped by around 27 percent, is now almost half its previous size of 250 pages at 130 pages.

Widarti said this followed the drop in advertisements, "especially from brand name boutiques". Remaining ads included household products and other goods whose ad buys were scheduled well before the crisis began.

Matra readers pay the same hefty price of Rp 10,000, but for only 107 pages instead of 164.

"The circulation has dropped by 30 percent," said Imam. He said soaring delivery costs had also forced the company to suspend distribution to eastern Indonesia.

Matra, for the time being at least, has managed to keep its thick, glossy look and full-color print.

Newspapers are also squeezing their column sizes.

Dailies like Terbit, Sinar Pagi, Jawa Pos and Berita Buana are among those which have reduced from eight or nine columns to six or seven.

But Berita Buana's chief of editors, Machfudin Nigara, denied that its layout changes and switch from morning to afternoon editions were due to the crisis.

"We planned them long before the monetary crisis even started," Nigara told the Post.

Many have commented that Berita Buana's new look -- full-color front, back and centerfold pages -- is more eye-catching and that its content is also more newsworthy.

But has all the remodeling helped it cope with the crisis?

Nigara disclosed production costs were four times higher.

"Formerly, it was only about Rp 1,400 per copy," he said.

"We knew it would be hard. But we've been dreaming about it for a long time and now we've made it, so we just have to stick with it.

"The consequences are that we have to cut costs, including on promotion and traveling and, on the other hand, we have to take advantage of being an afternoon newspaper by always improving the quality of information..."

Firms are also frantically cutting overhead costs.

The Post is economizing on electricity and telephone usage. Bottled chili sauce and napkins have disappeared from the communal dining room, and coffee is no longer available at the newsroom's beverage stands.

Republika has suspended subsidies for reporters' mobile phone bills.

Matra, once the envy of other journalists for reportedly having "unlimited" reporting budgets, is also succumbing to belt- tightening. Promotional spending has been cut by 50 percent.

TV stations are also biting the bullet.

Couch potatoes and insomniacs are being forced to find other options to kill time at night as stations cut airtime.

Beginning Feb. 16, SCTV private television station had cut its airtime from 21 hours a day to 12.5 hours on weekdays, 18.5 hours on Saturdays and 16.5 hours Sundays.

Broadcasting begins at 7 a.m. on weekends and 11 a.m. on weekdays.

Except for Saturdays when it stays on the air until 2:30 a.m., SCTV signs off at 11 p.m; ANteve ends at 12:30 a.m. On Saturdays, it broadcasts until 1:30 a.m.

SCTV's corporate secretary Riza Primadi said the cut in airtime was in anticipation of surging costs. Riza said the company found it difficult to keep buying imported programs and movies at dollar prices as cash flow had slowed.

"Ads have dropped by 50 percent," he said.

Despite the cost-cutting efforts, some print media directors have had to swallow hard and mete out the most difficult decisions of all.

Media Indonesia laid off at least 100 employees, most of whom worked in noneditorial departments.

The Sinar newsmagazine is absent from newsstands but its management announced it would reappear in April in less expensive tabloid form. If true, the staff will have fared much better than their colleagues at the Raket tabloid, which focused on badminton, tennis and other racket sports.

Raket, initially a glossy magazine costing Rp 7,500, switched to a 32-page tabloid format last year. Last month, it ceased publication.

Still, there were no layoffs at Raket. As part of the extensive Kompas-Gramedia Group, its staff are being transferred to another group sports tabloid, Bola, according to Julius.

He added that Jakarta Jakarta magazine, a publication of the group known for featuring more photographs than text, would soon become slimmer with "not too many expensive pictures bought from foreign photo syndicates".

Despite all the problems, the jovial Julius managed a smile.

"The storm will come to an end," he said, joining others who have resorted to quoting the title of a popular 1970s Indonesian pop song in the crisis.