Between fear and power : Kompas, Indonesia's most influential daily newspaper, 1965-2010

Wijayanto, W. (2019)

Doctoral Thesis

In order to shed light on what happens to the media when a political regime changes from an authoritarian one to a democracy, this book has investigated the biography, and the journalistic values and practices of Kompas daily newspaper: the largest and oldest national newspaper in Indonesia, with special emphasis on the newspaper’s relationship with the power holders across different political administrations. This book argues that Kompas has developed a polite, indirect and cautious style of journalism that has changed very little after the fall of Indonesia’s authoritarian regime, limiting the newspaper’s capacity to function as a critical watchdog of the power holders, and preventing it from becoming a mobilizing force in the development of Indonesian democracy. This particular style of journalism developed during the authoritarian period as a result of two different, intertwining factors which shaped the habitus of Kompas; these were both cultural and political economy factors. After the regime change, this journalistic style was preserved, because to a considerable degree the same cultural, political and economic forces continued to operate within and upon the newspaper.

• Kompas
• Newspaper
• Journalism
• Media
• Regime's Change
• Democracy

• All authors: Wijayanto, W.
• Supervisor: Henley, D.E.F.
• Co-supervisor: Berenschot, W.
• Committee: Bedner, A.W.; Dhakidae, D.; Hanitsch, T.; Saptari, R.; Schulte Nordholt, H.
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University
• Date: 2019-01-17