Leiden University Scholarly Publications

Wijayanto, W. 2019

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

Doctoral Thesis

open access

2020-01-17T00:00:00Z; 2020-01-17T00:00:00Z

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... Show moreIn 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. Show less