Press Day organizers cut budget

Press Day organizers cut budget

JAKARTA (JP): The current monetary crisis has prompted
National Press Day organizers to scrap some planned activities,
saving up to Rp 400 million (US$40,000) from the previously
projected budget of Rp 500 million.

Chief organizer Sofjan Lubis told a press briefing yesterday
there won't be any press exhibition at the event which will be
held on Feb. 9 in Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra. In the
previous annual celebrations, there were usually exhibitions
joined by major publications and the media.

President Soeharto will also lead the commemoration from his
office here rather than in Palembang as previously planned,
Sofjan said.

"It's simply because of the President's tight schedule,"
Sofjan said when asked if poor health was behind Soeharto's
decision not to inaugurate the day in Palembang.

"We hope this year's commemoration will foster the mass
media's solidarity in facing the crisis," said Sofjan, who is
also the chairman of the Indonesian Journalists Association
(PWI).

The theme for this year's National Press Day is Multimedia
Development for Fostering National Unity and Integrity.

"This year's commemoration will be the first to see the
participation of privately owned television stations and radio
stations, which have now become members of the country's press
family," Sofjan said.

Among the activities to be conducted this year are a marching
contest, charity programs such as free operations for children
with a cleft palate, and circumcision for poor children.

Some programs will be moved from Palembang to Jakarta. They
include seminars and workshops, and a senior-junior journalists
get-together, said Sofjan. (aan)