Kosmonita Radio manager Idah Ernawati was engaged in a serious discussion with a new announcer, Elly."I noticed that you constantly apologize to listeners when on the air. It sounds ignorant. We have to be sharp on air, at the same time conveying our thoughts to the listeners," said Idah.
"Maybe you could leave out the word 'sorry' and repeat the sentence without it," said Novie, a producer.
Elly listened closely, sometimes asking questions.
Discussing and evaluating radio programs is routine at Radio Kosmonita, which caters to female listeners in Surabaya.
"In general, Kosmonita wants issues surrounding women be resolved, partly through the programs we air. The approach may be slow, but the process of going toward that goal must be lively," Idah told The Jakarta Post.
Women's issues have reemerged this year in advance of Women's Day on Dec. 22. Once again, the discussions range from the role of women in the family, domestic violence, and women as second class citizens, to harassment against women, not only in Indonesia but worldwide.
Women still appear to be at a disadvantage in society, which has prompted some media outlets to focus on women's issues full-time.
The Surabaya chapter of the Alliance of Indonesian Journalists (AJI) says around 20 percent of the print media in Surabaya caters to women.
The Surabaya office of the Indonesian National Private Radio Broadcasting Association says four of the 25 radio stations in Surabaya are aimed at a female audience.
"The question is, whether or not women's media has seriously accommodated women and been able to address these issues," said Sunudyantoro from AJI's programming division.
Members of the women's media are asking the same question. Idah Ernawati from Radio Kosmonita, which started airing on Dec. 22, 2000, discusses the station's impact every year with listeners.
"We are aware that the female media has not reached maximum effectiveness yet," said Idah.
Because of institutionalized sexism, women neglect the issues, while the media outlets that aim to address them feel they crash into a brick wall. "Frankly speaking, the issues are not easy to resolve," Idah said. "The government has also not made any efforts to address the problem."
The chief editor of Surabaya's Venus fashion and beauty magazine, Abdurrohman, echoed those remarks. He said it was difficult for the women's media to address the mindset of prejudice head-on, because there is no general understanding of women's status.
"Eventually, there must be a suitable strategy to do that," said Abdurrohman.
He said finding strategies to reach women was not easy. Venus magazine had to change its format three times in a span of two years.
"Initially, we formulated it as a family magazine, then as a magazine for up-scale women, and finally for women in the middle income bracket," said Abdurrohman.
It was in the latter format that the magazine, with a circulation of 25,000, was able to penetrate the women's market by presenting fashion and beauty news.
"Our main content is lifestyle, but we also offer education, such as on sexual hygiene and child care," said Abdurrohman, adding that this was the most successful formula in terms of market acceptance.
The chair of the Women's Pro-Democracy Committee, Erma Susanti, said media attention to women's issues should be encouraged. She said it was raising women's awareness of such problems as domestic violence, which was earlier perceived as a source of private shame, unworthy of discussion.
"Since the media has created room to discuss domestic violence, the issue has gradually been spoken about openly, though not every woman is familiar with the topic," she explained.
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