Radio Waves for You

This article was one of the stories for my Master Project at Ateneo de Manila University (2004). We were asked to write a story which close to our heart. This is definitely close to mine. You can take some of the parts of this article, but please, mention your source.

Radio Waves for You
(first story)

by Shita Laksmi

On the small island of Saponda in East Indonesia, where electricity is on only from 6 p.m. to midnight and where there is no newspaper and very limited access to TV and radio programs, people yearn for information. To address this need, a group of fishermen, representing the island’s 1040 residents, unanimously decided that community radio would be the way to go. That is why a group of radio volunteers got together in January 2005 to discuss how they would build a better community radio station.

Saponda Island, no wider than a tenth of Changi International Airport in Singapore, already had some basic equipment. The station had been airing for more than six months using an Mp3 player, a transmitter, a microphone and an antenna. They do not use a computer because electricity is on for only six hours or even less each day.

Love

Where have you been?
More than ten years I have been looking for you

Though I could not see you in figure
You were in my day
Your calling was my password
My code to access my computer
My key to open my email
My access point to enter my dream

Inspirasi dari Kendari

Judul diatas mungkin terasa klise, tapi saya benar-benar merasa banyak mendapat pengalaman dan pengetahuan ketika hadir di Kendari sebagai panelis seminar nasional yang berjudul Penyiaran, Masyarakat Lokal, dan Perubahan Sosial tanggal 10 Juli 2007. Seminar ini diselenggarakan kerjasama banyak pihak, diantaranya adalah Aliansi Jurnalis Independen, Universitas Halu Oleo, WWF, Lestari dan Yayasan Bahari.

Dua panelis lain adalah Imam Prakoso dari Combine Resources Institution dan Errol Jonathans dari Suara Surabaya. Pesertanya mayoritas berasal dari praktisi penyiaran –swasta maupun komunitas, mahasiswa dan beberapa orang dari lembaga negara yang terkait penyiaran seperti Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia-Daerah serta Balai Monitoring.

Penyiaran dan Perubahan Sosial

Minggu ini (2nd week of July), saya diundang oleh rekan-rekan dari Yayasan Bahari untuk ikut bicara soal penyiaran komunitas di Kendari. Saya akan bicara dengan Imam Prakoso dari Combine Resource Institution dam Errol Jonathans dari Suara Surabaya.

Attached adalah presentasi saya di sana nanti. Kalau ada input, silakan ya. Terus terang untuk menuliskan mempersiapkan ini saya musti baca-baca dokumen pas jaman kuliah di Ateneo tentang Media and Politics.

penyiaran-dan-perubahan-sosial.ppt

More on “Blood on Their Hands”

 I found an interesting article on ACFJ (Ateneo Centre for Journalism) regarding “our” book.

 You could read more information through: http://acfj.ateneo.edu/news/0607_book_blood.htm

Media Pluralism in Asia

I am one of the writers on this book. It was around two years ago when I was still carrying Qiya in my belly. Together with Ignatius Haryanto, we made a research on media alternative in Indonesia, the trend of alternative media amid the mainstream media; the policies of media issues, such as press and law broadcasting law. We have box-sections on two media alternative projecst in Indonesia and I wrote about community radio in Yogyakarta; Balai Budaya Minomartani. I remember the discussion I had with them was so inspiring.

The book is a result of a research project covering eight countries in South and South East Asia examining the role and impact of alternative media. For further information (you probably want to buy, please check: http://www.amic.org.sg/publication/files/mediapluralism.htm)

Home

“Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I’m lucky I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm, I’ve got to go home

Let me go home
I’m just too far from where you are
I wanna come home” (michael buble)

I have been out of country for almost a week. And this is my second out of country trip in this month.

I don’t know what I should feel. Happy or sad. Thankful or ungrateful.

But I miss home; along with all elements inside it.

I certainly learned a lot in this trip and other trips I had. Languange, culture, food, the way this country governed, public transportation and certainly the mall.

But at the end, I miss home.

“Blood on Their Hands”

This is our book. “Our” here means the fellows of Konrad Adenauer Centre for Journalism. I am one of the fellow and my master project on community radio in Indonesia is included in the book.

This book launched in Diamond Hotel, Manila, May 3 2007.

And this is us, seven out of eight writers. The one without books is Chay Hofilena, our dearest teacher at Ateneo.

From left to right, Jofelle, Dev, Nini, Chay, Arlene, Karen, Me and Diosa.

pictures: Jimmy,  ACFJ

a delightful conference

I was invited by Centre for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila Universty to attend 2^nd Forum of Emerging Leaders in Asian Journalism. The main theme on this forum was “Leading Asia: Critical Media Issues”.

This two days conference brought excellent speakers from Bangladesh, India, Philippines and UK ; the reactors who were also the graduated fellows from ACFJ were also brought from many countries such as Sri Lanka, Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia, India, Cambodia and Philippines.

Super Media Power

“Super Media Power” was the title of one of my assignment at the Ateneo de Manila University. I found it quite useful, probably, for me to keep as a reference.

Name : Shita Laksmi
Topic : The Information Revolution and Power
Date of submitted : March, 21 2004
Number of words : 2641 words

 

 Super Media Power

Background

Information is crucial right now; since most of power relies on information. Joseph Nye said in his “Soft Power and in the Information Age” article that there are changing indices of power over the centuries. He said that in the 18^th century, the international balance of power rested on territory, population and agriculture, because this provided the basis for infantry, a crucial power resource. If you look at the 19^th century, industrial capacity provided the crucial resources that enabled first Britain and Germany to gain dominance. By the mid 20^th, science and especially nuclear physics contributed the crucial power resources to US and Soviet and in the 21^st century, information technology, broadly defined is likely to be the most crucial power resource.¹