Student newspapers told to change their strategies

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung

Student publications need to shift their direction as the social and political landscape has changed since their inception, a student activist says.

In the New Order era, the student press' orientation was clear in that it was critical of the military-backed government. But, when the New Order government collapsed and press freedom flourished, student publications lost their direction, said Roni Supriyono, the editor in chief of Teknokra Magazine.

"At the time of the New Order government, student publications ran many opinion pieces that challenged the repressive government. But now, as even the mainstream media can publish stories freely, student newspapers must change their strategies so their coverage is better," said Rony.

However, to publish stories based on event coverage poses a challenge for these publications. The lack of students interested in journalism is another problem as are human resources and funding shortages.

"Also, we cannot be fully independent as in terms of funding, we rely on the university. If we write stories critical of the university, we could be shut down," said Rony.

Rony said that before going to print the editorial staff of Teknokra Magazine must submit a proposal to the university's rector to disburse the money. Four editions of the magazine come out a year, each edition costing Rp 35 million (US$3,500). Besides the university, the magazine relies on student donations. Teknokra also puts out a newsletter 15 to 20 times a year.

Juwendra Ardiansyah, another student activist, agreed with Rony. He said that for the survival of the magazine it was important to maintain a good relationship with the university.

"It is the price that we have to pay to survive," he said.

Another weakness of Teknokra is that it is published quarterly. Many stories are outdated before the magazine is available to readers. This also makes it difficult for student publications to compete with weekly magazines or newspapers, said Juwendra.