It is not often that hundreds of newsroom leaders fly to the resort island of Bali and gather at a posh hotel for two days to discuss the myriad of challenges the country is facing.

So when the news broke that chief editors attending the Chief Editors Forum in Bali on Thursday and Friday were lining up for a goody bag containing snacks and condoms provided by sponsors, the public were bemused. The first question that came to mind was: Who is paying for it all?

Chief Editors Forum chairman Wahyu Muryadi said the forum collected around Rp 8 billion (US$808,000) from the sponsors of the event. The event itself, he said, cost Rp 5 billion. The major sponsors were Pertamina, BRI, Garuda Indonesia, PT Kereta Api, Bank Mayapada, Medco Energi, OSO Group, Artha Graha Peduli, Indosiar, Liputan6.com and SCTV.

Around 200 chief editors nationwide gathered in the affluent Nusa Dua complex to attend the two-day meeting. Numerous top businesspeople, media moguls and state officials, such as Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, who is also National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman, and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, who is also a media mogul and a potential presidential candidate, also attended the event.

The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), which has strongly campaigned against political and business intervention in the newsroom, was the first to criticize the Bali meeting, which was officially closed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Friday.

The association issued a statement saying that the meeting was poorly timed as this year had been widely dubbed 'a political year', with the general election being held next year. Ahead of the event, AJI received complaints from several parties about the meeting, which it said could compromise the independence of the press.

Wahyu played down AJI's concerns, while claiming that the forum was open to criticism. 'Although the press and the Chief Editors Forum often receive harsh criticism, we will not respond disproportionately. The press often criticizes, so the press must also be criticized,' Wahyu said during his closing remarks on Friday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

He also defended the forum's decision to invite media tycoons, saying that journalists and media owners needed to have a dialogue.

 Despite Wahyu's claim that the forum would not bow down to political powers or businesses, Irawan Saptono of the Institute for the Free Flow of Information (ISAI) said the event 'was shrouded in political ambience'.

'How can they say the meeting is independent when they received funds to sponsor the event from those who have special interests?' he said.

He said that the idea to gather journalists in a forum was good, but only if it was not sponsored by parties that could influence their work.

Members of the forum have reportedly accepted various facilities, such as free air tickets and hotel accommodation, from sponsor companies.

Hundreds of condoms were also distributed during the event, kontan.co.id reported. Each chief editor received at least three condoms from the Meoong brand in their gift bags when they registered for the meeting on Thursday. The gift bags also contained sweets and snacks.

'They must be warned that such sponsorship may threaten their independence [...] just like the dinner invitation,' Irawan said. He was referring to a dinner party featuring a cabaret show held by Artha Graha Group, one of Indonesia's leading conglomerates.

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