Blog Featured in Tempo Magazine

Posted on August 31, 2007
Filed Under Fatih Syuhud, Indonesia, Indonesian Blogger, News

It’s been quite a while that I intend to comment on Tempo Magazine latest edition that carries a long reports on blog and blogosphere in Indonesia. It’s a good news and a breakthrough of sort for Indonesian bloggers in particular and Indonesian people in general that blog and blogging phenomenon being featured in the most respected Indonesian magazine like Tempo for the first time.

For those in India, Tempo can be compared to Outlook magazine or TIME magazine in the US. It has the reputation as being independent and quality editorial and for that it costs the magazine a lifetime ban in the twilight of Suharto’s regime and republished again after the regime’s fall.

The report is good as far as I am concerned. It’s well researched and beautifully written by those journalists who know well what they’re talking about i.e. those who have blogging experiences themselves. I’m sure the Tempo coverage would make a good impact to the larger audience; the conventional media readers who might not yet be aware of it or who think that blog is only part of techno savvy buzz that will come and go like any others.I believe and am hopeful that other magazines like Gatra , etc will follow talking about it sooner rather than later.Newspaper Should LearnOther than the Jakarta Post, which carries some good op-ed article (the latest written by Ong Hock Chuan) and Kompas, other Indonesian newspapers are still lagging far behind and seems to have no clue at all about blogging. And because of that ignorance they often make grave mistake on which person they should interview, what kind of angle they should cover, etc. A case in point, take a look at responses by Priyadi and Enda in this matter. I myself wrote about it here in which I clearly said that a “pakar telematika” (telematic expert) does not necessary means “pakar blog” or blog expert. For newspaper journalist and editors, please learn about blog and learn quickly for your own sake.

For Majalah Tempo and the team thank you for the good reporting, and for Mas Tulus and Mas Cahyo thank you for kind enough interviewing me. And for Budi Putra thank very much for the pdf file. I really appreciate all of your efforts. And believe me, Tempo would be remembered by Indonesian bloggers for a long long time as the first Indonesian magazine which make the first and the best coverage on blog and blogosphere.

Lastly, for those who stays outside Indonesia and wants to know and read the Tempo reports on blog precisely like its print edition you can see in the following links (in .pdf).

Tulisan Lengkap tentang Blog di Majalah Tempo

- 10 Blog Pilihan (I am in #1, dubbed as Dubes Blogger Indonesia or Ambassador of Indonesian Blogger)

- Melebarnya Jendela Informasi

- Wajah Penutur Alam Maya

- Catatan Harian Pembawa Mala

Update:
Ong Hock Chuan writes a good commentary on this matter. A must read for any journalist who wants to cover blogging phenomenon in Indonesia.