Talking Indonesia

Evi Mariani - Media Freedom In March this year parcels containing a pig’s head and the carcasses of dead rats were sent to the offices of Tempo magazine in Jakarta. The story made international headlines and led to an outpouring of support and condemnation from across Indonesia’s mediascape and public more broadly. Known for its deep investigative reporting the magazine’s chief editor described the brazen threat on its journalists as an act of terrorism. Just weeks after the attack on Tempo, the latest World Press Freedom Index downgraded Indonesia’s rating across all indicators. Media organisations and news outlets across the world face inevitable decline and are struggling to maintain relevance in the face of competition from social media platforms, content creators and influencers. In Indonesia, mass layoffs of journalists are imminent as the old commercial model collapses. In response, a new, although undeniably small movement of independent journalism is pushing back with the aim of finding new ways t