Final Blog Post

Over the course of the semester, I was surprised to learn as much as what I found out about the social media and overall media in Indonesia. Even though the country wasn’t my first or second choice as far as blog topic assignment goes, it was enlightening and interesting to see the countries form of media as far as news broadcasting, journalism standards, and societies acceptance of journalism. From research on the freedomhouse.org, I learned that Indonesia attained a total freedom press index of 117 of 178 countries.

In 2009, there was a large offset to journalism due to violence against various journalists. Soon after laws were created and violent acts were declined. After resolving many of these conflicts through various laws and acts, journalism has been much more free and resembles many of the news in the United States as far as how the news is written and what is being published to the masses.

With the use of The Jakarta Post and The Jakarta Globe as my primary news outlets for this blog assignment, as well as the international portion of the New York Times specialized for Indonesia, I was able to follow up on important/breaking/current news in the country. I’ve learned that many Indonesians get most of their news from the Internet itself. Many in the country rely on the Internet as its source to the headline news.

In a recent article posted on the Jakarta Globe just this week, it was found that Facebook is considered how many Indonesians are getting a majority of their news. From wall posts and the convenience of linking certain articles to pages, it is found that Facebook is what garners a majority of “hits” on news websites such as the Jakarta Globe and the Jakarta Post. Even though it is minimal compared to sites such as Indonesia Google, it is still is a big number of people who find out a majority of their news solely through social media.

I have also learned that many Indonesians are well up to date with American social media as well, attaining accounts in popular mediums such as Twitter, Facebook, Blogger and even 4shared.

Originally, I thought Indonesia was still a small nearly third-world country with minimal news media and social media in general but after learning of their news and seeing what many Indonesians are seeing on a day to day basis, as what I would see when logging into the Los Angeles Times, I now see that they are far more advanced than I previously thought.

Technological Effects in Indonesia

The impacts and effects of the internet, mobile phones and other digital technology for global are immense especially with this day and ages growth of websites, social media options, and interactive websites that many users have become highly dependent on. The internet allows individuals to surf the web, chat with a friend, look up certain facts online or even reconnect with high school friends, and with the growth of the internet and the growth of social media, Indonesians can easily do all of these things and more through a computer or a even a smart phone. But along with the positives in the growth of technology and social media, there are also cons and downs to the rapidly heightening medium.

According to Alexa, The Web Information Company, Indonesia's top 10 websites are:

1. Facebook
2. Google.co.id
3. Google
4. Blogger.com
5. Yahoo!
6. Kaskus
7. Youtube
8. Wordpress
9. Twitter
10. 4shared

Nearly half of the top 10 websites are all social networking/social media websites. With the internet being such a strong medium for Indonesians, networking and connecting through these websites is fairly easy to do. With the rise of the internet, Indonesia also jumps up 14 places in Global Communications Rankings, according to the The Jakarta Globe. Indonesia went from 67 to 53 out of 138 economies with the help of websites such as Facebook, Kaskus, Twitter and 4shared, all social media websites.

Another impact of the growing internet medium would be how much Indonesian and Southeast Asian entrepreneurs take advantage of the growing internet audience. With Facebook, according to the another article from The Jakarta Globe, the country and it's economy is looking towards more internet based businesses.

As far as the effects of technology and the widespread growth of the internet, there are multiple pros such as the ease of communication, the numerous options of websites and social media options, and even the expanse of knowledge throughout the World Wide Web. The cons include but are not limited to faulty information, the difficulty in finding credible sources, and though finding things are easier, you never know if what you're reading is true or not.

Technology as well as the internet is a double edged sword. You have your pros and your cons but neither outweighs the other so to speak. In order to use it to one's advantage, society has to use it smartly taking the necessary precautions against censorship or false information but at the same time enjoying it as a media of entertainment and not taking it far too seriously.

Fecebook: Viral Mispelling

When you see the word "Fecebook" you may just think that it's a typo, but in reality, many Indonesians are actually typing out "Fecebook" intentionally into their search box. Fecebook, which is NOT a social networking site to divulge in details about one's bathroom blunders, it's just one of Indonesia's common misspellings for the ever popular "Facebook."

According to a recent study on an Asian Tech Blog, it is found that many Indonesians are trying to spell out 'Facebook' as it sounds as opposed to how it's really spelled.

Due to the increase of usage of the term 'Fecebook' the word itself is increasing in popularity. Despite it's spelling error, Fecebook, Facebook, or however you decide to spell it, is still a popular and vital part of social media for Indonesians, spelling errors and all.

Higher Economic Development Plan for Indonesia

According to the Jakata Globe, the Indonesian government plans on making their country the 12th-largest economy 2025. They plan on conquering this feat by encouraging "domestic growth with its planned economic corridor scheme and programs to improve regional connectivity.

At the moment, Indonesia is ranked 17th-largest after their GDP was approximately $700 billion circa 2010. They plan on boosting that to about $3.8 to $4.5 trillion by 2025. In addition, per capita income will also be raised to $13,000 from 2010's $3,005.

The government expects more state-owned enterprises and companies to give money to the country but they also plan on relying on the cooperation of private sector companies as well. Another tactic would be the increased flow of goods from other countries used a domestic link of global trade, and due to their already strong reliance on foreign trading for economic growth, the increase of this would only assit the country.

The plans are feeble at the moment but the out product of all the attempts to increase the strength of their government and economy will be worth the effort by 2025.

Indonesian Recognition by UNESCO

The Saman Cultural Dance is being recognized by UNESCO, the United Nations Education Social and Cultural Education as "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" according to the Jakarta Post.

This is one of many traditions and cultures from Indonesia that has been recognized by UNESCO wayang (shadow puppets), keris (traditional dagger), batik textiles and angklung (a set of Sundanese musical instruments).


Indonesian Club Saman Dance
BYUH Culture Night Performance at PCC, 2006

Aryeh Sternberg on Social Media in Southeast Asia

The impact of social media in southeastern Asian countries and the effects of Facebook, Twitter and other microblogging outlets.

Indonesians says goodbye to Acclaimed Indonesian Journalist

Journalist Rosihan Anwar courtesy of The Jakarta Post


One of Indonesia's famous Journalists, Rosihan Anwar also known as Pak Ros, was laid to rest on Thursday at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta with full military honors. The 89 year old passed away due to heart failure at 8:15 Thursday morning.

Indonesia's president said that the country lost a major figure. Rosihan was not only known as a journalist. He was also known for being a writer, humanist and film figure. Despite being criticized for many of his pieces, he is known for doing many things for the country and that even though his writings were harsh, they were delivered with a "responsibility and good intentions".

According to Vice President Boediono said, "His works documented this country’s history, and that is very useful to future generations."

Rosihan was considered a true journalist because he told the truth in his stories despite the consequences he would face. His journalism career began circa 1943 and two years later became an editor for the Merdeka newspaper and the chief editor for Pedoman newspaper. He was also one of the Indonesian reporters who covered the Round Table Conference in The Hague in 1949. He also wrote more than 30 books, was active in various organizations and appointed the chairman of the Indonesian Journalist Association (PWI), and remained head of its Honorary Council. He is also awarded the Bintang Mahaputra III, the highest award given to a civilian who has a made a significant contribution to the military.

Rosihan has left a large impact on the Indonesian journalist community and will forever be remembered for his writings and his allegiance to reporting the truth.

Tsunami warning after Earthquake hits Northern Indonesia

According to The Jakarta Post, a strong earthquake, with a 6.7 magnitude hit Indonesia's main island of Java at approximately 3AM on Monday morning Indonesia time. The quakes epicenter is estimated to stem from Southern Java below the ocean floor. So far, there are no immediate reports of death, injuries or damages from the quake.

Shortly after quake, many were warned of a possible Tsunami to follow which lead to many Indonesians evacuating and preparing themselves for any chances of the Tsunami.

The follow video includes details of the quake including location, region and predictions for the on-coming Tsunami.



Apart from the quake that took many early Monday morning, there has also been flooding in North Sumatra after a Dike collapsed in the Cucukan River in Tanjung Putus village, Padang Tualang sub-district, on Sunday, April 3 according to The Jakarta Globe. With the added rain and downpour, many of the houses are flooded along with many farmlands and plantations.



After the tumultuous and damaging Japan Earthquake from early March, Indonesians are taking all the necessary precautions to prepare themselves for any pending natural disaster.

Volcano scare causes necessary evacuations

Mount Karangetang

According to CNN, one of the nation's most active volcanoes, Mount Karangetang, is alerted for a possible eruption which prompted the evacuations from two nearby villages on Siau Island where the volcano is located. Up to 1,200 people have moved away from the active volcano in Northern Indonesia since the alert was reported.

The nearly 6,000-foot volcano is one of Indonesia's most active and after an eruption last August, experts are fearful of any possible future eruption. Experts have also noticed in the past week that the volcano's activity has reached it's highest level specifically after the Japan's earthquake on March 11.

The country's National Disaster Management Agency is insisting those living around the area take the necessary precautions to prepare themselves for a possible eruption in the near future.

They're Back!: Indonesian Evacuees Safe and Sound

According to the The Jakarta Post, the first batch of Indonesian citizens who have been living in Japan for various reasons have recently been rescued and evacuated. The devastating quake that hit Japan last Friday has led to many Indonesians stuck in the country and waiting for their chance to go back home. The 99 initial evacuees who arrived to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten was just the first batch of many Indonesians still awaiting their trip back home. The Indonesian Government is doing all they can to get their citizens back home safely.

As of today, the Indonesian Government has issued a travel advisory to all citizens wishing to travel to Japan after the massive quake. Japan at the moment is fearing nuclear activity and radioactivity and many are fearing the effects of the radioactivity, especially Indonesians currently in Japan and ready to go back home. Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa assures Indonesians that there have been no reports of citizens being exposed to radioactivity in Japan, since they have been screened and checked for any potential threats to the country.

Old and New Cultures of Indonesia

With over 350 cultural ethnic groups in the country, the cultural diversity of Indonesia is large and also wide-spread. Based on an article in Indonesia's Official Tourism Website, there are still many areas that practice their ethnic rituals, customs, produce exotic arts and crafts and wear traditional clothes. There are also few still live indigenously with uniquely Indonesian practices, live in places where traditional beliefs and rituals, that their traditional and culture still dominate daily life. Areas where tradition and culture still flourish instead of the acculturation and adaptation to a more technological lifestyle would be The Wamena Highlands, Madobak Ugai Matotonan Village and the Jangga Village.



The media are a large impact on Indonesians in general. With my previous blog post showing how much of a social networking giant Indonesia is turning out to be, it's obvious to see how influenced most of their society is and how much they are pulled into sources such as Facebook, Twitter and other micro-blogging habits.

Another media impact would be the role of television. Found in a study that looked at how television and radio affected the smaller indigenous culture of Indonesia, it found that there is a larger amount of television and radio feeds which cause smaller cultured groups to practice more of a technological lifestyle, whether it be simply focusing more on the media feed or just disentangling themselves from their cultural practices. Their habits are changing slowly since television and radio broadcasts are still limited to more of the secluded sections, but there is a change.

As far assimilation, marginalization and integration goes for these smaller cultures, it's minimal. It appears they still adhere to their original traditions but maintaining a grasp on the media to acquire themselves with important news from the radio. Unlike the more technology advanced parts of Indonesia where microblogging and "tweeting" is prominent, these cultures stick to what they know, and what they know is tradition.

Censoring the Blackberry?

Early January, Blackberry users in Indonesia were cut from the possibility of viewing any sort of pornography on their Blackberry smart phones. Research in Motion (RIM) the Canadian brand in charge of the smart phone announced, "that it is blocking access to pornographic websites on its smartphones in Indonesia in response to the government’s demand" according to Reporters Without Borders.

The filtering and censoring of these websites stemmed from the Indonesian's government to block the use of pornography as well as monitoring Indonesian's usage of sites relevant. RIM was simply trying to comply with the governments new standards that were set out early January.

Despite the blocking, many are still trying to find filters or sites to bypass the government's attempt to ban pornography. But with new found rerouting techniques, there are fears of further for deprecating forms blocking from the RIM company to company with the governments needs.

In the end, the government has the last word as far as blocking pornography goes on the Blackberry smart phones.

Indonesia, A Social Network Nation?

According to this video by CNN, it seems as if Indonesia has become the top leader of Twitter and Facebook bloggers and top leader in social networking in 2011.

Media Conglomeration: Here. There. Everywhere?

As the demand for news and the demand for entertainment increases, it seems media conglomeration frequents the industry more and more. But to understand conglomeration, you have to understand the basics of it first. A conglomerate, when defined, is the combination of two or more companies or businesses that essentially work with each other creating a final product. Specifically, a media conglomerate describes companies that own a number of other smaller companies in various medias. Examples of media conglomerates today are Time Warner, Disney, and Viacom.

In my personal opinion, media conglomeration allows the top six media corporations, or the "Big Six" to own and have the most say in what we as an audience here and see on a daily basis. It has a large impact in that these media corporations essentially feeding society information that they want us to believe. In the end, we have six main companies that gives us information and not much more of an opinion from an outside source. Almost like bullies or "the cool kids" on the playground. They have the say and they have the power.

Conglomeration in the media affects other markets in other countries in that the information the audience receives goes in two ways: either too broad or too limited. If a there are only so many conglomerates holding news agencies and the press, societies only gets so much news rather than a larger span of information. The market is affected in that there is a large divide. Companies with many smaller corporations under them gain much of economy's money and news "trust" while smaller conglomerates or more independent based companies attain a smaller audience and earn less money than larger corporations.

Indonesia currently has 10 major prominent business groups that own most of the country's media and news. Its largest media conglomerate at the moment is Kompas Gramedia Group. According to this article in The Jakarta Globe, Indonesia Media Conglomerates "... are seen as a new threat to the press freedom..." And also states that the media conglomerates are an opposing threat to press freedom in itself, leaving a large imbalance of power with limited checks and balances.

After following the news for for Indonesia recently, I've noticed that most of the news sources and information stem from three main corporations or news agencies, primarily The Jakarta Post, and the Jakarta Globe, both of which circulate a large amount of news within the country and have a large audience following.

In the end, media conglomeration brings many advantages and disadvantages. Advantages such as large capital and growing funds for a strong conglomerate and opening up new media and markets to other countries, and disadvantages such as limited balance in the control of the media and news, stemming back to the bullies on the playground having the power where as the underdogs aren't as equally appreciated.

Many who rely on these large conglomerates would say that media conglomeration has more positives than negatives while those of more smaller independent companies argue the unfair advantages that these companies hold. The various views are endless but as our society continues to grow and as our dependency on media increases, its difficult to tell whether conglomerates are truly a positive or negative force to society.

Corruption Courts, Ethnic Crackdowns and Newly Appointed a Governor

The President and Supandji, the new Defense Governor


Due to the influx of corruption within Indonesia, Chief Justice Harifin A Tumpa, says that Corruption Courts will be made in order to fight against chances of corruption within the country. Courts will be placed in all 33 provinces within Indonesia, hopefully, by the end of this year. The Jakarta Postreports that the courts will consist of 6 different judges who all specialize in corruption cases and will constantly hold trials and hearings, with judges working both the high courts and lower courts.

On Wednesday, a new draft code of ethics for lawmakers was deliberated on at the House of Representatives. This draft, according to the The Jakarta Post prevents those writing the law from gambling and prostitution and most especially from visiting brothels that promote these types of activities. If passed, violators of the code will face a written warning then suspension then in finality, a dismissal as a legislator for Indonesia. During the discussion, not all legislators were willing to approve of or pass the new legislation and were hesitant on passing the bill. As of now, the bill is still pending.

In other news, The Jakarta Globe reports that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inaugurated a new defense agency Governor. Budi Susilo Supandji, as of Thursday, February 17th, replaces Muladi as the new governor of the strategic National Defense Agency.

Religious Backlash and Church Protests in Indonesia

According to the stats in Nationmaster.com, Indonesia is compromised of Muslim 86.1%, Protestant 5.7%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 1.8% and approximately 3.4% unspecified others. The local news within Indonesia is currently revolving around religious conflicts with its people and government. According to reports from the Associated Press, conflicted started to come to a head when a Christian was convicted of blaspheming Islam, yet was sentenced to a laxed sentence, then was followed by attack on the Ahmadiyaa, a minority Muslim sect, where several people were killed and many were injured.

Recently the Indonesia's president, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has come to take a stand against the many protests and increased violence caused by the clash in religious beliefs. The Antara News, reports that the President is set to take a governmental approach in stopping current violent attacks and future attacks. The President was quoted as the press for, "...for the support and cooperation of the press by covering and reporting news which are in accordance with our efforts to strengthen harmony and tolerance and prevent violence conducted by any groups or communities which harm the harmony."

The Media Within Indonesia

Indonesia, officially known as the Republic of Indonesia, boasts a population of around 238 million and comprised of 17,508 islands. It is located within Southeast Asia sharing borders with Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and East Timor. The nation's capital is Jakarta and its economy is the eighth largest in the world. Its government system is a Universal Presidential Republic and its current president is Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Indonesia's culture is influenced by Indian, Arabic, Chinese and European sources. The countries native language is Indonesian which is universally taught in schools and was officially declared its language in the 1920s. The largest commercial center within the country is held in its nation's capital of Jakarta.


Media within Indonesia consists of various levels of communication such as radio, television, movies, newspapers, magazines and a large domain of Internet-based websites. After the end of President Suharto's rule in 2008, the leniency of media freedom instantly increased. After 2008, printed publications increased to nearly 40% of its size during to Suharto's rule. The television, radio, and cinema market in addition to the printed publications. Currently, Indonesians obtain most of their news via internet news media sources. Various popular newspapers and websites include the The Jakarta Post, The Jakarta Globe, and Kompas, which is the most popular source of news within the country. The media is owned by multiple companies such as The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission, Kompas-Gramedia Group, PT Jakarta Globe Media and PT Bina Media Tenggara.