The Jakarta Post, January 25, 2003
Ambon journalists become jacks-of-all-trades
Ati Nurbaiti, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
Journalists of struggling media publications have never had the luxury of sticking to
just reporting, yet they will do anything in their power to reach their public to survive.
Print journalists in Ambon, for instance, dash between reporting, amateur accounting,
supervising the unloading of their orders of paper and film plates at the nearby port
before rushing back to prepare the next edition.
Then at the last minute of their long working day they may find out that the paper
cannot be published the next morning due to various difficulties, technical or
otherwise, at the printing office.
To maintain independence, every publication should separate its newsroom from the
business room -- but its ability to only keep a relatively small number of workers on
staff leads managers here to encourage journalists to seek advertisements as well, to
keep operational costs low and hopefully have wages ready on time. They get a
commission of 10 percent for each advertisement -- a much better practice than
taking bribes -- which journalists say is as common as anywhere in the country, but
then again, some two dozen businesses, including a dozen radio stations and
tabloids, are competing for the very few commercials and advertising opportunities
that are out there.
In light of a recently improving situation following the devastating conflict here,
advertisements are numerous only on special occasions -- when someone wants to
congratulate a new official, or when Idul Fitri, Christmas or New Year's Day rolls
around. Condolencees are also an important source of revenue.
Journalists in Maluku also need to remember that readers are fed up with their earlier
fiery "war journalism", which led to a number of media being faced with threats of
closure by the authorities, and warnings from the National Press Council against
inflaming the conflict that pitted Christians against Muslims.
To be relevant to their audience, journalists have to translate into their daily work the
general sense that people of either side want to get along, if not yet able to make
explicit peace, but to rebuild their lives in their homeland -- which means inevitably
living together in a society with diverse ethnicities and religions. It is this awareness
apart fromm a few training sessions on "peace journalism" by experienced journalists
in conflict situations, which has changed much of the face of reporting here.
Said one reader: "There was a time when we just couldn't look at the papers
anymore." Reports were not only considered inflaming; those of "Christian" and
"Muslim" media contradicted each other, even if they were part of one media group.
"We tried so hard to be neutral," said the chief editor of Siwalima, Martin Langoday,
whose daily was known as a particularly outspoken Christian newspaper. "But then
as the conflict wore on it became more and more difficult to get the other (Muslim)
side to comment. They wouldn't speak to us, and we were also pressured by our
readers."
The same difficulties were echoed by those in the Muslim papers, such as the Ambon
Express, which is part of the Jawa Pos media group. Sources would insist that
journalists not print the number of casualties, or that the figures should be reduced,
because neither side wanted to be seen as the one with the greater loss.
Strangely enough, Jakarta-based Christian and Muslim media gave the impression
that there was a competition going on as to which side was the real victim in the
Maluku war.
The identification of papers according to their religion here is unprecedented and
saddening, and these businesses are still striving to shed that image.
At least the Ambon Express has a few Christian reporters. Siwalima has only recently
managed to get one Muslim reporter on its staff after three years of conflict, Langoday
said.
The magazine on journalism, Pantau, said last September that shedding religious
identities for newspapers would likely be more complex, particularly for those related
with the management of the nationwide media group, Jawa Pos. Its newspapers in
Maluku are Suara Maluku, which became Christian, and the new newspaper born out
of the conflict, the Islamic Ambon Express. Editors said it was a painful separation
that also involved suspected religious and ethnic bias within the group -- Muslim staff
from a sister newspaper in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Fajar joined Suara Maluku --
while owners denied allegatiions that they were profiting from the conflict.
Despite reaching a circulation peak of over 8,000 at the height of the war, compared to
going back to barely 3,000 now, managing editor of Suara Maluku daily, Oktovianus
Pinontoan, said the costs were much higher.
Journalists said they were spending up to Rp 20,000 a day on traveling costs for
taking speedboats and motorcycle taxis, as it was then impossible for anyone going
through predominantly Muslim or Christian areas to use land transportation, which
was under Rp 2,000 a day. Many subscribers would not get their papers because of
distribution problems. Worse, Muslim subscribers left papers which had become
Christian.
Quality was questionable as staff had to rush home by 5 p.m.
"It was only after the second year that I realized I was writing the same reports day
after day," said Ricky Rumaruson, one of the journalists who began their careers at
the time of the conflict. There was virtually no time for reflection or discussion with
editors, given that the only need was to publish or perish -- literally.
A peace movement here, Baku Bae, and the Alliance of Independent Journalists, set
up the Maluku Media Center on a border area between Muslim and Christian quarters
in Ambon, which helped provide a place where journalists could meet and trade
information, reduced occupational hazards.
With the risks to everyone's lives largely gone, it's a much better time for the media
here.
But a few exasperated managers have taken on the operational costs and are digging
deep into their own pockets, while thinking that they just might have to give up.
Recently, the Koraninfo daily stopped publishing, pending a decision from the owner
who has yet to figure out what to do with it. The staff of Suara Maluku are also
seeking the decision of Jawa Pos CEO Dahlan Iskan, who has hinted at that
publication's severe financial difficulties.
If money is the only concern, a big opportunity lies ahead with the 2004 election. But
despite a few potential offers, Koraninfo chief editor Yunita Tiakoly said, "I just can't
imagine handing over the paper to a political party." The Koraninfo daily has been
building up a reputation of being neutral, recruiting both Muslim and Christian
reporters since it was set up over a year ago.
Far south of Ambon in the district of the Kei Kecil islands, a lot of people ignore
newspapers because they show up so irregularly given the dependence on printing
presses and transportation in Ambon. The state-run RRI radio station is the only
reliable source of news and entertainment, in view of the poor television reception.
Villagers said they keep their radios on all day, and bring them for company while
working in the fields. "We're closely watching the news of the (upcoming) regent
election," said one man in Elaar Lumngoran, the site of what residents described was
a massacre in April 1999. "Then we'll know for sure about when we'll get our promised
(compensation) funds."
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