“I am a Journalist”

KOMPAS/KARTONO RYADI

General Manager of Kompas Daily, Jakob Oetama (center) during a hearing with DPR members on November 27, 1989.

Journalism and personality are two things that cannot be separated from Jakob Oetama. So, it is impossible to talk about Pak Jakob\'s journalism without talking about his personality. The following story may offer a glimpse into who Pak Jakob was.

Whenever he went to Yogyakarta, Pak Jakob almost always asked Hermanu, a colleague who worked at Bentara Budaya, to pick him up. Several times, I joined Hermanu to pick him up from Adisutjipto Airport. The Bentara Budaya vehicle was just an old Taft jeep. Pak Jakob sat in the front seat of the car, which was not air-conditioned.

After stopping at Kadipiro\'s soto (traditional soup made of broth, meat and vegetables) stall, his favorite food, we took him to Hotel Santika. The car door to the left had been damaged for a while so it could not be opened from the inside. Hermanu opened it from the outside. Pak Jakob came down without an officer to greet him. Understandably, who would have thought that a boss or a distinguished guest was willing to be escorted in a worn-out old car?

Journalism that is nguwongke (humanizing)

Pak Jakob was a very simple person. Every day, his clothes were always the same: a gray long-sleeved shirt and gray pseudo black pants. His hair was left slightly stretched like an artist. In his old age, he often recounted stories about the village in which he was born, Jowahan, near Borobudur Temple. The simplicity of the village stuck in his subconscious, more than the extravagance he should have been allowed to enjoy.

For Pak Jakob, wealth seemed to be a waste because he could never really enjoy it. Meanwhile, simplicity was a treasure, it always gave him inspiration, enthusiasm and a source of creativity. Indeed, the wealth that came to belong to him was not the target of his life, but the fruit that flowed from his simplicity.

This personal simplicity is the foundation of journalism. "Journalism must be simple, don\'t do diverse things unnecessarily," he said. Pak Jakob continued trying to build Kompas daily with this simplicity of journalism. As in life, it is also so in journalism: being simple is not easy. However, if someone is willing to do so, he will find many journalistic pearls that are very valuable.

Also read: Indonesian Character and Humanity

KOMPAS/HASSANUDDIN ASSEGAFF

Kompas General Manager Jakob Oetama (right) chats with advocate Adnan Buyung Nasution on the 48th Indonesian Independence Day, Tuesday (17/8/1993) at the Legal Aid Institute Building, Jalan Diponegoro Jakarta.

The message "not to do diverse things unnecessarily" clearly prohibits journalism from becoming popular. Kenes (being coquettish) is indeed attractive and alluring. However, if it becomes coquettish, journalism will be easily tempted into a love of gossip and to delivering the news in flowery language. Pak Jakob often warned about this danger. He wanted Kompas journalism to always grapple with the weightiness and content of the news.

Simple is charming not because of its outward appearance, but because of its depth. So, Kompas is asked to always dig into the depths and not to care about the outer appearances. The journalistic language he used avoided the unnecessary; it was straightforward, compact, economical, simple and easy for readers to digest immediately. The spirit of being simple and not doing things that are unnecessary has inspired Kompas so much that it has become its identity.

Pak Jakob\'s spirit of simplicity made it easy for him to empathize with those who were poor and deprived. No wonder its journalism also had the aim of "entertaining the poor and reprimanding the rich." Pak Jakob said, Kompas news should not only report on big and famous people. Poor and marginalized people also had to be the focus of the news.

Also read: The Legacy of Jakob Oetama

Kompas\' humanistic vision can only realized if its journalism is in touch with the poor and seeks to defend them. On the other hand, the humanistic effort of upholding justice will remain an abstract idea if Kompas’ journalism does not take sides with the poor and the deprived.

Pak Jakob often advised that the poor should not be seen only as news objects, but should be approached in all their humanity. As human beings, those who are poor also have values, rights and dignity. In their deprivation and suffering, the resilience and hope that the haves are lacking is revealed. Thus, the poor or poverty is the location where humanism becomes transcendental. This means that beyond the reality of poverty and suffering lies a power and charm that is beyond mere human power and charm.

Kompas news should not only report on big and famous people. Poor and marginalized people also had to be the focus of the news.

That power is encouraging and the charm inspires hope. That is an area that journalists should also explore. If that is done, journalism will be able to entertain the poor and reprimand the rich in their deepest human dimensions.

KOMPAS/KARTONO RYADI

Jakob Oetama (far right) Editor-in-Chief of Kompas, giving a speech at the handover of the title of Best Athlete in Jakarta, April 1972. In the picture, the Governor of DKI Jakarta, Ali Sadikin (three from the left) and also the swimming sports coach MF Siregar (second from left) and the leader Indonesian badminton, Ferry Sonneville (behind Jakob Oetama).

For Pak Jakob, the capital for humanistic and transcendental journalism was compassion. He embodied this compassion with the simple practice of nguwongke. In the past, he often came to the editorial office in the afternoon. He would greet us all and ask what we had done during our day in the field. Not infrequently he would ask us for a cigarette, and then smoke it.

Nguwongke means addressing people as humans, regardless of their status. The more people seek nguwongke, the more they will hone their compassion. Compassion is not about reason, but about the heart. So, said Pak Jakob, people who were willing to have compassion would definitely be sincere in their hearts. Sincerity was the wellspring of Jakob Oetama\'s journalism. Journalism must be carried out with sincerity, precisely because the press in Indonesia deals with an insincere society. Such a journalistic task cannot be carried out if the journalist himself does not live a sincere and honest life.

Also read: Goodbye, Pak Jakob

Sincerity is not only practiced in communication, but also in dedication in going into the field. Journalists must not be lazy. Once, we stood at the Palmerah editorial security post because of the rain. "Why haven\'t you left yet," asked Pak Jakob, who happened to be passing by. "We’re waiting for the rain to stop, sir," we replied. "Right, you have raincoats,” he admonished.

Once, St Sularto and I also missed news about a student demonstration defending the city’s bus crew. "Other newspapers ran the story, why didn’t you?" asked Pak Jakob. We reasoned that yesterday we were busy working on other news. "That is not a reason for journalists," he said scathingly. The next day we did not want to miss it again. At 4:00 a.m., we were already in the field, getting ready in a city bus garage whose crew was about to demonstrate again.

Jakob’s wholism

For Jakob Oetama, journalism was a calling to serve the community.

The field was indeed everything for Pak Jakob\'s journalism. He would say, only by diligently going into the field and living up to what was happening there, would journalists produce reports that captured the real, lively, throbbing, cramped, sweaty, tearful and hopeful nature of people and their experiences.

Jakob\'s various titles were well deserved. However, at all times and to everyone, he always said, "I am a journalist." He really enlivened and totally loved the life of a journalist. For him, journalism was not just a profession, but roeping (a calling). A profession is a career, which can be achieved by oneself, but a calling comes from outside, as a kind of gift.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

Sindhunata

Unlike a profession that one can take personal pride in, a calling means to serve and assist. For Jakob Oetama, journalism was a calling to serve the community.

Pak Jakob, your service has been an inspiration to all of us, the journalists. Goodbye and thank you.

Sindhunata, Kompas journalist 1977-2012.