'Surabaya Post' fires chief editor

Surabaya's leading newspaper Surabaya Post has dismissed its chief editor Sirikit Syah over an internal conflict only six months after she took up the position.

The leading journalist in Surabaya was officially dismissed this month, as according to the management she was unable to meet the newspaper's vision and mission.

Sirikit confirmed the dismissal with The Jakarta Post, saying that "the termination of the one year contract was agreed to by both sides, as I was considered unable to implement the company's vision and mission".

Surabaya-born Sirikit, who received fellowships from Japan's Nihon Shimbun Kyokai (NSK) in 1988 and also from the Hubert H. Humphrey Foundation in 1994, has always been associated with the communications industry.

Starting her career as a reporter with the Surabaya Post in 1984, where she worked for six years, she later worked as a reporter for two TV stations, RCTI and SCTV. She also worked for the Post while at the same time developing Media Watch, a non-governmental organization that monitors the performance of the press.

Sirikit said the paper needed to make various breakthroughs to survive. "Unfortunately, I disagreed with the breakthrough offered by board of directors, which required journalists to look for ads as well," she said.

She said her disagreement with the proposal was the start of her differences with the paper's directors, which then led to her dismissal.

Surabaya Post was first published by the late A. Azis and his wife, the late Misoetin Agoesdina (Atoety Azis) on April 1, 1953. For many years, the first afternoon newspaper in East Java held a dominant market position within the province. Mismanagement, however, led to its closure on July 22, 2002 but the paper was resurrected in 2003 by the Forum of Employees of Surabaya Post (FKSP).

Sirikit has been replaced by president director Abdurahman J. Bawazier, who denied rumors that Surabaya Post's directors have asked the paper's journalists to seek ads.

"There is no editorial policy that requires Surabaya Post's journalists to also look for ads," he told the Post.

Since the start of her appointment, Sirikit and he had agreed to separate the business side of the paper, he asserted. Sirikit was to take charge of editorial matters, while the directors would work on business development.

"And I saw that Sirikit has given a positive contribution in that area," Abdurahman said.

When asked about her dismissal, he seemed reticent.

"There's an internal conflict that I can't expose since it would be unethical," Abdurahman said, adding that it was only a matter of a difference of opinion and the media organization maintains a good relationship with Sirikit.

He said such dismissals were common and would not affect the paper as it already had a standard system in place.

However, one of the paper's journalists, who was reluctant to be identified, said that the call for journalists to look for ads had been made even before Sirikit joined the paper. The call, he said, was not an obligation. "Most of the journalists refuse to also look for ads, especially since it's not mandatory," he said.