PWI upbeat media will survive crisis
PWI upbeat media will survive crisis
JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the Indonesian Association of
Journalists (PWI) Sofjan Lubis said yesterday he was confident
that despite the economic crisis and the high price of newsprint,
no Indonesian publication would close down or go bankrupt.
He said although his association had received several
complaints from local publications about the newsprint price, it
had not heard any report about publications closing.
"The situation is really tough for the national press, but I'm
sure the press still has the strength to survive even the most
dire situation," Sofjan was quoted by Antara as saying after a
meeting at the House of Representatives.
Sofjan is a member of House Commission I for information and
legal affairs. He suggested that local publications cope by
reducing their pages or circulation.
"The strength is in idealism. Today, national publications
face only the problem of (high newsprint price) while stock is
still adequate... this can be overcome," he said.
"Once, the press was faced with the problem of not only high
prices but also limited supply, and yet they maintained
publications."
He suggested the press also change their format, from the
nine-column newspaper size to tabloid size. The Terbit and Berita
Buana dailies have opted for this format.
Sofjan was commenting on an earlier remark by Secretary-
General of the Association of Indonesian Newspaper Publishers
(SPS) Leo S. Batubara that the economic turmoil since July had
not only caused thousands of workers to be laid off, but had put
70 percent of the country's 286 newspapers on the brink of
bankruptcy.
Batubara said the skyrocketing price of newsprint following
the rupiah's free-fall against the U.S. dollar had also seen five
North Sumatra-based weeklies -- Masa, Dobrak, Bintang Sport Film,
Taruna Baru and Persada -- on the brink of closing down.
The monetary crisis, which has lowered the value of the rupiah
against the U.S dollar has made newsprint expensive.
The rupiah's depreciation partly contributed to the rise in
the newsprint price to Rp 6,025 per kilogram in December last
year, compared to Rp 1,254 per kilogram in January 1997.
After tight negotiations, the Association of Indonesian Pulp
and Paper Producers (APKI) and the SPS agreed last month to cut
the new price of newsprint to between US$500 and $505 a ton.
The price of newsprint was last set at $535 a ton on Oct. 3.
Under the agreement, newsprint producer PT Aspex Paper will
sell newsprint for $505 a ton, while state PT Kertas Letjes will
sell it for $500 a ton. (swe)