International Journal of Indonesian Studies Volume 1, Issue 3 | Page 23

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDONESIAN STUDIES SPRING 2016 Re-inventing Tabloid Journalism in Indonesia Diyah Hayu Rahmitasari Biodata: Diyah Hayu Rahmitasari is a junior lecturer at the Department of Communications, Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta, Indonesia. She holds a master degree in Mass Communications from Edith Cowan University, Australia. Her research interests are in journalism production, media use, media engagement, and social media participation. She can be contacted at [email protected] Abstract Tabloid journalism is a contentious phenomenon that has provoked debate in many countries, including Indonesia. The main accusation levelled at this genre of journalism is sensationalism. However, tabloid journalism actually offers new perspectives by catering to the taste of the ‘untouched’ readers previously ignored by mainstream newspapers. This article describes the phenomenon of tabloid journalism in Indonesia through an analysis of the two highest circulating Indonesian tabloid newspapers, Pos Kota and Lampu Hijau. It is based on a combination of quantitative content analysis and qualitative email interviews (conducted in 2011-2012) as its research methods. The main goals of this research are to reinvent the characteristics of tabloid journalism in Indonesia as exemplified by Pos Kota and Lampu Hijau, as well as to discover the role these papers play in the development of Indonesian journalism. Keywords: Indonesia, Lampu Hijau, Daily Newspaper, Pos Kota, Tabloid Journalism Introduction Tabloid journalism is a rapidly growing phenomenon around the world. In the United Kingdom, for example, tabloids are the most popular newspapers and hold the majority share of the total newspaper circulation (Johansson, 2007, p. 83). In addition, in South Africa, until quite recently, The Daily Sun was the leading newspaper with a circulation of around 500,000 copies per day (Wasserman, 2010, p. 1). The same situation can be found in Australia where tabloids such as The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun are daily newspapers with the highest circulation (Janda, 2013). In Indonesia, the tabloid newspaper Pos Kota registers the highest sales figures (Yusuf, 2009, p. 26). Despite their popularity, tabloid newspapers are often met with negative views from scholars and media practitioners due to their perceived low quality. Some people argue that tabloid newspapers lower the standard of democratic communication and exercise a negative influence on their readers (Johansson, 2007, p. 83). According to Kitch (2009), tabloid journalism often involves dramatization in order ‘to shock and provoke strong emotional responses among readers’ (p. 29), which is normally avoided by conventional journalists. 23 | P a g e