Ismira Lutfia – An Indonesian Web site modeled as an alternative platform for news reports not picked up by the mainstream media has officially gone live with the aim of hosting newsroom leaks.
Iman D. Nugroho, editor in chief of Mediaindependen.com, said at its official launch on Sunday that what set it apart from other media watchdogs was its "spirit and packaging."
"We are all members of the Alliance of Independent Journalist [AJI] but we are not compliant to it," said Iman, who is also a senior reporter for jurnalparlemen.com, a news portal specializing in covering the country's legislature.
Mediaindependen.com went online in October, created from an idea first raised in May when a group of journalists participated in a three-week course at the Radio Netherlands Training Center near Amsterdam on how new media could support independent journalism.
Promising to host stories that were spiked for various reasons by news desks at mainstream media outlets, it was inspired in part by the success of WikiLeaks. The Web site currently has 18 contributors, all of whom also work for various mainstream news outlets.
Budiman Tanuredjo, managing editor of Kompas, said the establishment of a watchdog like Mediaindependen.com was a positive move to safeguard freedom of the press given the increasing threat of self-censorship by media owners.
Meanwhile, Ignatius Haryanto, a media analyst, said that while the Reform Era had ended government controls on media organizations, that role was now being filled by media owners. Business interests, he said, forced many media outlets to be careful about reporting on certain issues.
Current stories on Mediaindependen.com cover the news industry itself, including allegations of unfair treatment of employees by a magazine in the Kompas group. No stories axed by the mainstream media are featured yet.
Wicaksono, a journalist and noted blogger, said the Web site would have its work cut out trying to stay current, given that its contributors also worked for various other news outlets.
"How long can the site last? Will you all have enough time [to contribute]?" he said. "The important thing is that the site be well maintained."