Manila,
Philippines
Project Information
Indonesia has made great strides during the last 10 years in
liberalizing its economy, attracting foreign investment and
promoting economic growth. Poverty levels have been reduced
from 40 percent in 1976 to less than 15 percent today, an especially
impressive record given Indonesia's standing as the fourth most
populous country in the world. But while the Indonesian business
sector has already joined the global economy, economics and
business journalism remains at a very basic level of development.
The lack of economic information and analysis represents a brake
on the development of small and medium businesses, which are
the chief engine of job creation and economic dynamism in most
countries.
When provided with instruction on business and economics,
journalists feel less intimidated by the subject matter. This
helps enhance the accuracy and quality of reporting and analysis
on economic issues and increases the overall flow of information.
Better-informed and more self-confident journalists are more
likely to seek the truth in their information-gathering activities,
challenge and assess independently information received from
government sources, and then communicate this information
effectively to their audience, a process that encourages a
more open civil society and discourages corruption. In its
CIPE-sponsored project, the Press Foundation of Asia (PFA)
and private Indonesian news agency KNI jointly organized an
eight-day training program in Jakarta in May 1996 for 25 mid-level
print journalists from around the country. The goal was to
increase the knowledge and sharpen the reporting skills of
business and economic journalists in Indonesia, particularly
those employed by provincial newspapers. The journalists in
attendance represented many of Indonesia's largest and most
influential newspapers and magazines. In addition, PFA and
KNI have produced a Bahasa-language handbook, which will extend
the reach of the project to a wider audience of journalists.
An evaluation found that the program enabled the participants
to develop deeper insights into economics and business, gave
them more confidence and discernment, and sharpened their
skills in economic and business reporting and writing. The
evaluators also identified positive changes in the media organizations
represented in the training program. For example, Suara Merdeka,
a major newspaper in Semarang in Central Java, introduced
two new columns: one on government policies that affect small
business and cooperatives, and the other on the stock exchange.
The Bandung Post expanded its economic and business reporting
staff from three to five, and added two new pages to what
had been a one-page business section.
Press Foundation of Asia
1500 Roxas Blvd., 3rd Floor
S & L Building, Ermita
Manila
Philippines
Tel: 632-591-478
Fax: 632-522-4635
|
