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.