Letter from publisher: Change and continuity at ‘The Jakarta Post’

The Jakarta Post | Tue, 08/03/2010 9:00 AM

In an era where change seems to be the only constant, The Jakarta Post officially installed Meidyatama Suryodiningrat as its fifth Editor-in-Chief effective Aug. 1, 2010.

New boss: New The Jakarta Post chief editor
Meidyatama Suryodiningrat (right) poses with the
Post’s president director Jusuf Wanandi during the
handing over of a letter of appointment. Meidyatama
replaces Endy M. Bayuni as the Post’s editor-in-chief.
JP/Arief Suhardiman

He on Monday officially replaced Endy M. Bayuni, who served with distinction for six years after a career spanning back to the first months of the Post in 1983. Endy steps down with the appreciation of the Board of Directors and shareholders of PT Bina Media Tenggara, publishers of the newspaper.

Meidyatama graduated from Canada’s Carleton University and more recently completed his Fellowship at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.

As someone who joined the post in 1993 — the Post’s second decade in existence — Meidyatama represents a generation of journalist bred in the whirlwind of “new media” change, while retaining journalistic qualities that have served this newspaper well.

The challenges that lie ahead for the Indonesian media are both novel and complex. More than just promoting a humane civil society, which has been this paper’s pronounced vision, Meidyatama takes over the helm in an era of transformation both for the nation and its media.

The immediate mission of this organization is to broaden its focus to serve its loyal community

in a multi-platform environment while maintaining the qualities of mature journalism by carrying out a daily conversation advocating for a nation built on values of pluralism, good governance, transparency and justice.

With your loyal support, Indonesia’s oldest and most trusted English-language daily, under the aegis of Meidyatama’s editorship, will evolve to become an agora of ideas, a pillar of the fourth estate and a reference as the journal of Indonesia today.

— The Publisher