Uli Herdinansyah: (JP/J. Adiguna)The local television industry is booming and celebrities' lives have seemingly become "public property".

Thanks to the public's hunger for news, or even the dirt on their idols, local gossip shows are earning top ratings.

TV presenter, radio broadcaster, and emcee Uli Herdinansyah is part of the "circle".

The 35-year-old, who hosts the TransTV gossip show Insert, says he is not in it for the money.

"It's more than a job. The TransTV guys are like family. I have been there for four years now."

He said that working with two female co-hosts -- Ersa Mayori and Cut Tari -- was like having two wives. They (Ersa and Tari) have different characters, which Uli has come to understand better over time.

"Whatever I've achieved, it's because of them," he said.

"This kind of chemistry doesn't exist at infotainment programs (at other TV stations)," Uli said.

The fun part of hosting Insert, he said, was making ordinary news seem special.

"It takes a certain degree of intelligence to approach gossip in an interesting way.

"The other thing is -- and this is going to sound stupid, but I am going to say it anyway -- is that since I was a kid I have never been able to take people in positions of authority seriously. Going against the grain is fun, don't you think?"

Insert, according to Uli, "honestly and fearlessly" provides witty celebrity commentary.

"In my delusional mind, I believe we are actually doing our bit for democracy in this country," he said with a laugh.

In the beginning, there was strong resistance from celebrities toward the program but they soon learned they could use it to their advantage.

A celebrity (unfortunately Uli forgot the name) whose misbehavior had caught the attention of Insert had once called the producer to make sure he was being featured.

"I want to hear what your presenters are going to say about me," said Uli, quoting the celebrity.

Though hosting gossip shows can be a lot of fun, Uli said quality control was vital.

"Take E! for example, I find that channel very interesting. They really do their research. I also enjoy Kick Andy very much because they do their homework."

Uli spent his childhood in Batupat, Lhokseumawe, Aceh, where his father was working for oil company PT Arun. He moved to Jakarta in 1993 and spent a year in Europe on a student exchange program.

Living inside the PT Arun housing complex, according to Uli, meant he was ill-informed of the "realities" outside, where the armed conflict between then pro-independent guerrillas the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian Military was underway.

"I knew very little about the conflict then; but my sensei (martial art instructor) didn't show up one day and a friend said he was killed in a gunfight," he said.

However, a meeting with an Acehnese journalist for a business trip to Bangkok a couple of years ago gave Uli a totally different take on his childhood.

"I began to question whether it was for real because it was so perfect," he said.

The journalist, who had lived in the village next to the PT Arun complex, told him how difficult life had been for them during the armed conflict.

"When we were kids, we were taught to be wary of people living outside the complex, they were simply 'bad' for some reason."

Uli said he had a shocking experience when he was a kid when he cycled near a field one day.

"I heard someone shout Jawa pungok at me, which means crazy Javanese. I could not fathom the hatred. I couldn't understand what the anger was all about. It stayed with me for years, until I met the journalist."

"It's a surreal experience because I never met him again after the Bangkok trip. Like some people in life, you connect with them, then never see them again. But they've helped you on your way through life."

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