The niche of English-language national media has been particularly hard to crack, with dozens entering the segment, only to fold only after a few years.

The Jakarta Post has been one of the few national papers, English or otherwise, to have defied the odds. As the Post celebrates our 39th anniversary on Monday, we again reflect on the achievements we have made over the decades, from surviving censorship under an autocratic regime and witnessing the birth of Indonesia’s nascent democracy, to making it through these past two COVID-19 years and its deleterious economic impacts.

Born out of dissatisfaction with the unbalanced coverage on Indonesia in Western wire services and other media, many industry observers have noted that the Post evolved from a scrappy publication into the country’s leading English-language news media.

As social media and other forms of digital communication continue to significantly influence the tone, pace and types of coverage, from politics to society, the Post can play a guiding role against the pull of sensationalism and bias, as well as in promoting democracy and civility. This is particularly so in our coverage of Indonesia’s increasingly polarized society.

“Any country’s media benefits from the presence of a high-quality, independent media outlet which prioritizes balance and truth in reporting over sensationalism, commercialism, and bias. In that, there will always be a role – and a challenge – for papers like The Jakarta Post,” David T. Hill, professor of Southeast Asian studies at Murdoch University, told us on Saturday.

For years, the Post has strived to protect democratic values while providing a much-needed channel for the voiceless.

“I have always been impressed by the outspoken positions taken by the editorial staff, even during the New Order. Calling out injustices and inconsistencies while supporting underrepresented groups and voices is something The Jakarta Post does so well,” said Jason Tedjasukmana, head of corporate communication at Google Indonesia, who did a brief stint as a copy editor with the Post in the early 1990s.

And at a time when the increasing risk of judicial harassment against journalists and human rights activists might end up prompting self-censorship, the Post’s bold and independent coverage was something the country needed now more than ever, said Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid.

“The Jakarta Post must never back down from giving voice to the fate of marginalized minorities and those whose rights are suppressed,” he continued.

While maintaining its critical stance, the Post was also credited for bringing news from Indonesia to the world, said professor Hill, adding that it had become a window into the country by reaching out to a global readership and providing balanced coverage on Indonesia for international readers, including Australians.

“How the world has changed from when I was an undergraduate student at university in Canberra in the 1970s! Then, I would have to wait for months for our university library to receive copies of Indonesian newspapers which were posted by sea mail from Jakarta,” Hill recalled.

“By the time they arrived, the ‘news’ in them was already ‘history’ rather than ‘current affairs’. By contrast, now an undergraduate student – or any interested individual – in Australia can follow events in Indonesia in real time, instantaneously. In that sense, The Jakarta Post now serves the world!”

Separately over the weekend, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi expressed her hope that, as the Post approached its fourth decade, it could continue to provide quality reporting to the public.

“I do hope that The Jakarta Post will continue to deliver trusted journalism, including on Indonesia's foreign policy and diplomacy,” she said.

Jusuf Wanandi, the Post’s founder, said the paper still played an important role as an agent of change for Indonesia, which was now facing a multitude of political and economic challenges.

“We have to be able to elevate this role, as it’s still very much needed by the country,” he said on Sunday.

“Because at the end of the day, there is only one relevant and trustworthy English newspaper [in Indonesia] that is relevant, trustworthy and is trusted by the community. In the future, we hope to move in an even better direction.”

Popular

Poverty at record low as govt seeks to redefine threshold

Markets don’t lie

Aceh still suffers from blackouts, evacuees lack clean water supplies