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ne year after Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama assumed the reins of the Jakarta administration, the public has a good idea of their distinctive style of leadership and personal traits '€” thanks to intensive media coverage from the get-go.

Unprecedented in previous administrations, each media outlet deploys at least one team to follow both Jokowi and Ahok to cover their initiatives and reactions, even when they are in self-reflective mode.

It is now commonplace to see reporters from 20 companies '€” TV, newspapers and news portals '€” on stand by in the main lobby of City Hall, an area previously prohibited to the media.

Both Laksono Hari Wiwoho, an editor at kompas.com, and Abas Yahya, the head of news coverage at SCTV, said that Jokowi and Ahok were indeed newsmakers who attracted many hits on the website and high ratings on television.

'€œJokowi likes to go around the city, so we assign one reporter to follow him. Another reporter is assigned to follow city agencies and Ahok because he often makes cool comments,'€ Laksono said.

Retno Pinasti, a senior news anchor with SCTV, said audiences liked Jokowi'€™s laid-back and informal character, so the station also covered seemingly trivial things about him to cater to people'€™s curiosity.

'€œJokowi'€™s attraction lies in his sincerity. He gives short answers and he is not afraid to admit of he doesn'€™t know all the details about certain budget allocations. Meanwhile, Ahok often delivers bold statements and makes interesting breakthroughs,'€ she said.

Their different individual styles translated well into a division of tasks, with Jokowi focusing on blusukan (impromptu visits and talking directly with members of the public) and Ahok scrutinizing bureaucratic performance and budget use, said Donni Edwin, a political observer at the University of Indonesia (UI).

'€œJokowi has introduced a new model of authority in Indonesia. He tries to get close to people, a pattern that is different from any other leader, from regents to the President,'€ he told The Jakarta Post.

Donni said Jokowi showed his desire to eradicate the gap between those in authority and the people by wearing batik white or checked shirts instead of formal attire during his daily interactions with people.

He said Ahok'€™s initiative to post recordings of his meetings with city agencies on YouTube as well as publishing his own and Jokowi'€™s salary breakdown online sent a very clear message to the public, especially the middle class, that they believed in transparency.

'€œThese actions aim to get people'€™s trust. Ahok knows well that the middle class in Jakarta is thirsty for good governance, so he aims to assure people that their administration is different from those in the past,'€ he said.

Urban campaigners have said Jokowi and Ahok were much more approachable than the leaders of the previous administration, namely Fauzi Bowo and Sutiyoso. Instead of sending low-ranking officials to discuss issues of concern, Jokowi and Ahok met personally with representatives of various groups protesting in front of City Hall; they even on occasion provided lunch boxes for the protesters.

A dialogue with squatters from the Pluit reservoir in North Jakarta, for example, was carried out over lunch. Jokowi, who remained quiet to listen to their concerns and complaints, talked only briefly about the importance of dredging the reservoir, and he promised to provide them with anything they needed, within reason.

Last December, Jokowi personally visited the sewerage system near the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and, more recently, in June, he allowed free admission to the Ariah musical performance at the National Monument (Monas) to people outside the gates. He also at one point left his VVIP seat to mingle with them during the performance, which was held to commemorate Jakarta'€™s 486th anniversary.

The deputy governor recently lashed out at Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi over the latter'€™s suggestion that Lenteng Agung subdistrict head Susan Jasmine Zulkifli should be replaced following protests by a small number of local residents who opposed her tenure on religious grounds, as she was a Christian.

'€œTell the home minister he should learn more about the Constitution,'€ Ahok told reporters.