From the outset the newspaper was to be pro-Yudhoyono. No news or photos of demonstrations were featured.
IT was a Tuesday night in February last year, in the personal library of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) in Cikeas, West Java. Ramadhan Pohan, the editor in chief of Jurnal Nasional newspaper was having a casual discussion with his host. It was a serious talk, even though there was much joking. For five hours, SBY, Chairman of the Democrat Party Board of Trustees spoke with this journalist who went on to become a member of the House of Representatives from the Democrat Party.
When night fell, the two moved to another room in the house. First Lady Ani Yudhoyono was busy in the kitchen. The President took his own dinner that night, and even went back for seconds. Ibu Ani prepared the rice and mixed vegetables.
That night was the first time Yudhoyono granted an interview about the issue of him being nominated to run for a second term of office in the 2009 Presidential Election. Jurnal Nasional was given the first opportunity to interview him.
ONE day in mid-2005. Three men from the Blora Center agreed to establish a media company. They were: Taufik Rahzen (an artist), Rully Charis Iswahyudi (a businessman), and Ramadhan Pohan (a former reporter for Jawa Pos). The Blora Center is a think tank which did the groundwork for Yudhoyono to step forward in the 2004 Presidential Election. Along the way the Blora Institute was formed, led by Taufik Rahzen—who later became a senior editor at the newspaper he formed.
This trio was helped by a team from the Brighten Institute—an institution where Yudhoyono sits as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. This team consisted of Joyo Winoto, Daddi Heryono, and Asto Sunu Subroto. On 1 June 2006, Jurnal Nasional was born.
The first general manager of Jurnal Nasional newspaper was Asto Sunu Subroto. A year later he was replaced by D.S. Priyarsono, who only held the position for a few months. The job then fell to N. Syamsuddin Ch. Haesy, who still presides over the paper today.
Hamid Dipo Pramono, the editor in chief of Jurnal Nasional after Ramadhan Pohan, denied the charge that Yudhoyono intervenes in the editing of the paper. According to him, the President has never given any special directions. “It is wrong if Jurnal is considered to be some sort of public relations body, and even more so if it [is said it] only takes orders from the Palace.”
Although the President does not intervene, according to some editorial staff at the paper, former Presidential Spokesman Andi Alifian Mallarangeng often interferes. Although he has never personally attended an editors meeting, he makes requests by telephone. Andi did not completely deny this. “I have a relationship with all editors in chief. If there is news which is inaccurate, I correct it,” he said.
Andi has been a regular writer for Jurnal from the beginning. His column, “From Kilometer 0.0”, has been routinely published since 29 May 2006. In addition to him, others from the Palace who write regularly are Anas Urbaningrum (currently Chairman of the Democrat Party faction in the DPR) and Denny Indrayana (a special staff member of the President in the legal field).
Ninin Damayanti
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