Unspun

There’s apparently another English-language newspaper in town. This time it is a mouthful – The Jakarta Morning Observer – to give competition to the venerable The Jakarta Post and The Point, a newcomer itself.According to Moch Kurniawan, who works at The Jakarta Post, the Observer is starting life as a supplement in The Investor Daily and Suara Pembaruan, before taking a life of its own as an English-language paper proper. The managing editor of this new rag is Kanisius Dursin, the former features editor of The Jakarta Post.

All this is very interesting but the real story here is the Lippo group’s expansion into the media sector. It now owns Investor Daily, Suara Pembaruan (which makes them part owners of The jakarta Post), Globe Asia, Investor Magazine, View and Kabelvision, Direct Vision, First Media and I don’t know what else.

Why the move into media? There is a power play among the big groups in the media industry but it gets very little attention from the media (because they are afraid they’ll be acquired, because people in glass houses…?)

Interesting to watch who will emerge as the new media barons in Indonesia and what the regulators have to say about it.

clipped from ayojakarta.com My office mates have been talking about the launching of a new English supplement in Investor Daily newspaper titled The Jakarta Morning Observer over the past two days. Investor Daily subscribers will get it for free, and in the afternoon, subscribers of Suara Pembaruan newspaper will also be able to read the supplement. It’s still free, but what I heard is the supplement will transform into a full English daily newspaper and will go commercial in the upcoming months. The supplement basically features general news in the country. There is also rumor that the same group will also publish an English business daily newspaper.Globe Media Group Executive Chairman: Rizal Ramli Publisher: Tanri Abeng Editor in Chief: Z.K. Zaenuddin Managing Editor: Kanisius Dursin Editorial Staff: Yohannes GN, Camelia P.It means the existing English daily newspapers, the Jakarta Post and the Point are going to have a new competitor.