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

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.