While people can get information from printed publications, these avid news consumers have increasingly leaned toward the digital medium to collect and accumulate knowledge.

As Indonesia’s largest English news publisher, The Jakarta Post, understands the needs of our readers and has created products that not only leverage its heritage in print but also satisfies the high demand of digital news consumption from readers, wherever they are.

“We are continually expanding our digital platform to better reach our audience,” says the Post CEO Yudi Wanandi in conjunction with the launch of e-Post.

Established on April 25,1983, the Post provides content and services in line with its role as a leading media outlet that reports on Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Its vision is to enlighten democratic societies in the region with quality information that promotes pluralism, openness and critical thinking.

In celebrating its 38^th anniversary, the Post has revitalized its electronic newspaper (e-paper), now called e-Post, and integrated the product with its website and app, making it easier for readers to access its legacy journalism.

The Post took its first step into the digital world in 1999. It later strengthened its digital presence in 2015 with the new look of thejakartapost.com, paving the way for a transformation that enables all of its products to be produced and delivered digitally.

While maintaining its newspaper publication, the Post offers two types of non-print content: e-paper and premium digital.

“Our electronic paper, which we now call e-Post, is basically the digitized version of our print product. It carries our newspaper’s design and page-by-page content,” Yudi says.

“Our premium digital product, on the other hand, is what you find on our website thejakartapost.com – it’s content made and packaged specifically for the website and mobile platform,” he says.

The Post’s strategy for developing the paper in the digital age is “to get on the digital bandwagon without leaving behind our print products, because we believe print isn’t dead.”

“We believe both print and digital outlets are undergoing a massive transition; and what we’re looking at right now is the economy of use,” he says.

“At the moment, we have separate readers accessing our e-paper and premium digital content — and to elevate the experience of reading our e-paper, we have decided to upgrade its look and feel by rebranding it as e-Post,” he explains.

In today’s digitalized era, the Post’s readers can be categorized into three groups: legacy readers, young and learning readers and digital readers.

“Legacy readers are those who have been with us for decades.  Young and learning readers are those who are basically our touch-and-go group, or in a sense, those who read us occasionally to learn more about issues that interest them through our reporting,” Yudi says.

“Digital readers are those who are a lot more diverse and come from different parts of the world, and who are keen to get to know Indonesia better,” he says.

“e-Post helps our readers engage with our print products via an electronic platform; for those who enjoy our print layout and offerings,” he points out.

“By widening our reach and enriching our platforms, we hope that we are able to attract more readers and subscribers, whether it be to our print or digital products.”

“For our advertisers, e-Post carries everything our print products carry — therefore, it has an elevated presence compared to our premium digital products, because of the significantly different layouts,” he notes.

Meanwhile, the Post’s chief editor, M. Taufiqurrahman, highlights how digital transformation has been editorially beneficial when it comes to content delivery, which highly favors readers.

“Digital content has allowed us to reach the widest audience possible and with a speed that has never been attained before,” he says.

He goes on to say, “Nothing makes members of the newsroom happier than the fact we can break stories first and deliver them to the largest audiences out there.”

According to him, the e-Post is the exact replica of its print edition and as many people know, “we have devoted a considerable amount of resources and exertion to the production of our print content.”

“So, for those of you who continue to cherish our print product, yet don’t want to deal with the hassle of getting the actual print newspaper, the e-Post is the perfect solution to that problem,” he says.

“You will have continued and unfettered access to all online information but nothing like having an actual newspaper in your hand, where the space arrangement, selection of the headlines and on what page a story appears make a difference in your reading experience,” he adds.

The COVID-19 pandemic is, in fact, the right time to get the e-Post product, he says.

“Getting print newspaper is too much of a hassle even without COVID-19. The risk of getting the virus is greater as you venture out to get the paper from a newsstand or when you have the paper delivered to your home,” Taufiq says.

Good journalism

Throughout its 38 years, the Post has recorded and documented a wide range of headline news and historical moments, and is well recognized for its good journalism, which has continued into the digital age.

“Journalism remains the same; it is the environment and infrastructure around it that is different, and we need to find new opportunities despite all odds stacked up against legacy publishing like us,” says Taufiq.

“We are proud of our tradition of good, quality journalism and we will continue to live up to that tradition. We need, however, to change how we deliver news to readers and e-Post is among new ways of doing so,” he says.

e-Post is not only targeted at corporate users but also retail or individuals, says the Post’s chief sales officer, Sanrais Ramadhan Bestari.  

The Post’s long presence and it being the only print English media outlet in Indonesia has been among its competitive advantages. “We expect to get 10,000 users this year. To achieve that, we‘re lowering subscription rates for our readers to below the price of a single cup of premium coffee,” he says.

For readers’ comfort, e-Post is powered by the Post’s cloud system with  a content delivery network (CDN) that enables readers to access it from anywhere in the world at high speed.  

 “Our IT team keeps updating the e-Post with the latest technology from three platforms: website, Android and iOS,” says the Post’s IT division head, Johnson Lopulisa.

To access e-Post, customers are required to update their apps on Google’s Play Store or Apple’s App Store to “get the latest version of our apps and upgrade their subscription,” Johnson went on to say.

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