Terms used for bogus journalists

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In Bahasa Indonesia, bogus journalists are popularly called WTS -- standing for Wartawan Tanpa Surat Kabar (journalists with no newspaper) -- or bodrex. WTS also stands for Wanita Tuna Susila (hooker).

They are also called muntaber -- standing for Muncul Tanpa Berita (those who attend a press conference but produce no news reports).

Bodrex is also the brand name of an over-the-counter pain killer, while muntaber is a stomach ailment.

It is unclear when people started calling bogus journalists these terms.

According to Ensiklopedi Pers Indonesia written by Kurniawan Junaedhie (published in 1991 by PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama), the phenomenon of journalists demanding money or gifts from news sources dates back to the 1960s. The term wartawan amplop (literally envelope journalists), which refers to authentic journalists who accept cash from news sources, is also believed to have surfaced at this time.

Veteran journalist Atmakusuma Astraatmadja, former chairman of the Press Council, said bodrex was initially used to refer to real journalists who failed to do their job professionally.

This type of journalist mostly focused on looking for money from news sources. They usually worked in groups, rather than alone like professional journalists looking for scoops.

"When I was very young, I saw an advertisement on TV for the pain killer showing a group of people in a line. The leader of the group was yelling: "Pasukan Bodrex, maju, jalan!" (Bodrex troops, move forward!). My colleagues and I became familiar with the term Pasukan Bodrex upon seeing groups of these bogus journalists," Atmakusuma said.

Today, bodrex is mostly used to refer to people posing as journalists but who work for no media outfit.