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Ambon
journalists become jacks-of-all-trades
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The
Jakarta Post
January
25, 2003
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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. Condolences 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 from 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 allegations 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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