Introduction

I was driving in my car when a news-gathering coordinator from TVOne’s main office in Jakarta called me in Australia with the instruction that I had to make a live report as soon as possible about new developments in the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. The news-gathering coordinator advised me that just a few minutes earlier the Australian Prime Minister had made a statement in parliament that flight MH370 might have gone missing in the Indian Ocean, about 3000 km south-west of Perth.

This event highlighted one of the key questions faced by a foreign correspondent working in today’s global media landscape. That is how a foreign correspondent based in Australia could be updated by someone far away in Jakarta about a particular issue that occurred much closer to the location of the correspondent? If they could monitor the event second by second from far away, why did they need someone to do a live report? They could even re-broadcast reports from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation about this new development in the search.

The implications of this question correspond with the question posed by Sambrook (2010) in his book, “Are foreign correspondents redundant?”, in which he argues that the news industry has experienced dramatic changes in the way foreign news is covered. With massive information flows from many sources, such as social media, blogs, websites, and globally accessible radio and TV stations, the foreign correspondent faces the question of whether their role is still required and relevant. What kind of new approaches does the industry employ to adapt to the dramatic changes in the news media industry? And what kind of skills does a foreign correspondent need to master to be able to operate within this new media environment?

This study is a competitor analyses which aims to reveal precisely what comparable organisations are doing in the issue of employing foreign correspondent. In particular, this study explores how TVOne, a news TV station in Indonesia, has been employing foreign correspondents as a strategy designed to compete effectively in the Indonesian TV news industry. Based on the findings, this study will also suggest some recommendations to improve the role of foreign correspondent.

As a starting point, this study will elaborate a response to the question of what is the future of foreign correspondents and how a TV news station in Indonesia can adapt to the changes that have impacted the profession of the foreign correspondent. This study will also focus on elaborating the challenges that have confronted the news industry and foreign correspondents and how Indonesian news TV stations embrace the idea of posting foreign correspondent overseas.

Methodology

It is difficult to research the role of the foreign correspondent in the Indonesian context as there has never been any academic research into this topic. Therefore, this study will incorporate analysis of foreign correspondent development in Western media. To explore the relevant data and information, this study is largely based on primary sources through interviews with professionals working in the TV news industry. The interviews were undertaken from 17 April to 15 May 2014 and it was conducted in Indonesian language.

The interviewees comprise thirteen TVOne employees, consisting of four foreign correspondents, two news-gathering coordinators, one news-gathering manager, three news program producers, and three executive producers. The four foreign correspondents are based in Egypt (Cairo), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), the United States (New York City) and Germany (Nuremberg). The four correspondents are the main primary sources, with the roles of the remaining informants engaged in constantly communicating and coordinating assignments with the foreign correspondents as well as having either direct or indirect influence on the correspondents’ assignment. The direct influence is in the news production process over which issues from foreign correspondent that can be aired. The indirect influence can be at the management level such as administration and budgeting.

The two news-gathering coordinators were selected as they are responsible for coordinating foreign correspondents on particular assignments. The producer is the person responsible for a particular program, not only in relation to the content but also in regard to the broadcast of the program. In this study, I selected three producers who are in charge of programs that are considered TVOne’s priority programs: “Kabar Siang”, “Kabar Petang” and, “Apa Kabar Indonesia Malam”. Executive producers were also interviewed as they not only handle the practical aspects of a news program but are also involved in decision making process at the management level. TVOne’s CEO, editor in chief, and general manager were not interviewed due to the time limitations of this study. These sources may provide information in the level of management policy regarding foreign correspondent. As a result, this study will not touch the fundamental reason behind the policy of going global by employing foreign correspondent overseas.

Foreign correspondent is not a recent phenomenon in Indonesian mainstream media. Therefore, I also interviewed the former chief of the New York bureau (1989-1993) for Antara (an Indonesian news agency) to give more background on how it was to be a foreign correspondent in the past and how he thinks of being foreign correspondent nowadays.

To understand how Indonesian news TV stations has embraced the idea of employing foreign correspondent overseas, I also interviewed an executive producer and a news manager from Kompas TV; a news-gathering coordinator from Rajawali TV; a producer and a former producer from Metro TV; and the vice-editor in chief of Bloomberg TV Indonesia.

Interviews were conducted by email, by phone, and by using WhatsApp. The majority of interviews were conducted by email, while WhatsApp and phone were generally used to follow-up any areas requiring further clarification from the email interviews, as these provided the opportunity for more immediate responses and clarifications. In particular, WhatsApp is very useful as by using the application I am not only able to send some follow-up questions and get the answers immediately, but also able to have the verbatim text of the interview including its timeline. It is important to note that one of the e-mail answers is sent by three persons: two news-gathering coordinators and one news-gathering manager. They come from the same department. They gave the answer in one e-mail as they thought that the answer may represent news-gathering department position.

Figure 1: A capture from one of the interviews using WhatsApp

Adapting Morrison and Tumber (1985) definition, I define a foreign correspondent as an individual who corresponds/reports from other countries for a news organization in Indonesia. As this definition is quite broad, positions such as news contributors, ‘stringers’, and ‘freelancers’ are also considered as foreign correspondents. The general term in Indonesia for someone who works for a TV station that is based on contract is called “contributor”. Someone who works and helps contributor is called “stringer”. And someone who works for a news TV station but without a contract is called “freelancer”. TVOne is the only news TV stations in Indonesia that employ foreign correspondent overseas based on contract, while others are not based on contract, therefore they called them “frellancer” or “stringer”.

Figure 2: TVOne's editorial structure

Figure 3: TVOne’s foreign correspondent assignment workflow

Findings

The decline of the foreign correspondent

It has been widely argued that the number of foreign bureaus and foreign correspondents working in Western media organisations has been steadily decreasing over the last three decades (Archetti, 2013a; Fleeson, 2003; Hafez, 2011; Hamilton & Jenner, 2003; Heil Jr, 2012; Livingston & Asmolov, 2010; Riegert, 2011; Sambrook, 2010).

Sambrook (2010) has identified three main factors that have had the greatest impact on the foreign correspondents’ profession: economics, technology, and globalization. In the economic context, the old model of foreign news delivery in which foreign correspondents were posted in particular countries and equipped with full facilities was deemed too expensive. Sambrook (2010) points out that the cost of maintaining one foreign bureau can reach US$250,000 per annum and can cost even more in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the old model of foreign correspondent reporting is changing rapidly as new technologies have offered alternative ways for the publics to get foreign news without mainstream media deliveries, such as from social media and blogs (Heinrich, 2012; Livingston & Asmolov, 2010; Sambrook, 2010).

The world is now much more connected “through global communication, ease of travel, increasing migration and more” (Sambrook, 2010, p. 47). This ongoing process of globalization has impacted the delivery of foreign news as people’s expectations about the foreign news that they receive are no longer the same as it was. One of the effects of globalization is that people expect that foreign news is delivered by people who are located in that country and, therefore, have a deeper understanding of local conditions and the specific circumstances of news events. One of the institutions that has attempted to answer the expectation of the public is Global Voices. The institution is “a community of more than 800 bloggers and translators around the world who work together to bring people reports from blogs and citizen media everywhere, with emphasis on voices that are not ordinarily heard in international mainstream media” (GlobalVoices, 2014). Solana Larsen, the managing editor of Global Voices, made the following statement at the Media Re:Public conference in the US in 2008.:

How many more years will we have to watch foreign correspondents parachute into a region and pretend they know what’s going on? How many more reports coming out of the Middle East from hotel rooftops will be delivered by people who do not speak Arabic or know what the Green Zone in Iraq was called before coalition forces arrived? Sooner or later qualified local perspectives will become what people prefer to hear rather than what editors defer to when a situation becomes too dangerous for western journalists to report from. It’s wrong not to have news from a faraway place simply because there is no longer money to fly foreign correspondents there. (Sambrook, 2010, p. 47)

Sambrook (2010) indicates that of the three factors – economy, technology, and globalization – economic pressures are the main factor that have had the largest impact on the fate of foreign correspondent.

In 1987, CBS News in the United States announced budget cuts up to US$35 million. It was reported as the largest budget cut in CBS history (Sambrook, 2010), and saw the closure of many of CBS’ foreign bureaus as well as the retrenchment of its 13 foreign correspondents (Peter J, 1987). In the 1980s, the US TV networks each had about 15 foreign bureaus. But in 2007, each one of them could only maintain not more than six. The ABC network has closed its bureaus in many major capitals, including Moscow, Paris and Tokyo. The NBC network has also shut down bureaus in Beijing, Cairo and Johannesburg, and the ABC is the only US TV network that still maintains a bureau in Africa, which is staffed by only one person. Moreover, the number of foreign-based newspaper correspondents declined by up to 25 percent from 188 correspondents in 2002 to 141 correspondents in 2006 (Pamela, 2007). Fleeson (2003, p. 32) observes that:

the networks have done away with many of their expensive overseas bureaus, ABC and Fox News closed their full-time bureaus in Moscow, once considered the most important foreign outpost. CBS yanked correspondents from Paris, Johannesburg, Beijing and Bonn. All have pulled out of Manila. Even CNN, the global behemoth with 28 full-time bureaus worldwide, closed Manila and, this year, Belgrade, Brussels and Rio de Janeiro.

The rise of the foreign correspondent

While the number of foreign bureaus and correspondents employed by Western media organizations continues to shrink, there has been a significant increase in the number of foreign bureaus and correspondents employed by media originations in Asian and developing countries, which is claimed to be a result of the economic growth in those countries (Sambrook, 2010). In this respect, China has been at the forefront of this growth. By 2008, Xinhua, the Chinese news agency, maintained 123 overseas bureaus that covered 190 countries (Hong, 2011) and, as of 2013, the China TV network CCTV had three major global offices in Beijing, Nairobi, and Washington. It also had more than seventy international bureaus (Nelson, 2013). Each CCTV’s major global office produces its own program for its own targeted audience (Branigan, 2011). For example, CCTV in Nairobi is for African market and Washington is for Northern America market.

Similarly, Indonesia has also experienced growth in foreign news coverage, albeit on a smaller scale than a number of other developing countries. In 2007, the Antara News Agency opened five overseas bureaus in Beijing, Canberra, Kuala Lumpur, New York, and Tokyo, as well as managing three foreign correspondents in London, Cairo, and Sana’a (Bambang, 2007). These cities are chosen as the level of Indonesia’s national interest, from economy to politics, is relatively high with the country in which the city is located. Another indication that Indonesian media organizations are focused on enhancing their overseas presence has also emerged in 2013 when Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) announced that they were planning to open five bureaus in Australia, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea by 2015 (ROL, 2013). For Antara particularly, the opening of the five bureaus and three foreign correspondents is a major leap since the economic and financial crisis in 1997-1998. Following the crisis, Antara could only retain its bureau in New York City and closed all other overseas bureaus (Saraswati, 2005).

Rapid economic growth in Indonesia in recent years can be argued to be the main factor why foreign news coverage by foreign correspondent has increased in the last seven years. However, I argue, it is also interesting to look at how foreign news reporting has become the stage upon which Indonesian news TV stations compete with each another to attract wider audience and enhance their reputation as the leading news TV station. In this regard, it is necessary to understand the Indonesian news TV industry media landscape after the fall of the New Order regime in 1998.

Foreign news reporting in the midst of increased competition

The downfall of the New Order regime marked a new era for the Indonesian TV industry. Between 2000 and 2002, five private national TV broadcasters were established: Metro TV (2000), Trans TV (2001), Global TV (2002), TV7 (2001, now Trans 7), and Lativi (2002, now TVOne). This era marked the second-wave of commercial television (Hendriyani, Hollander, D'Haenens, & Beentjes, 2011). This era is also marked by a much more free and open society in which TV stations have been able to freely and openly criticize the ruling government without any pressure from the government such as threat of closing down (Sudibyo & Patria, 2013). This more relaxed media environment has facilitated the rapid growth of news and current affairs programs, which has consequently also promoted much tighter competition in the TV news industry in general. Within this background, I argue, foreign news has become one of the strategies to build a strong image as the leading news TV stations or programs in Indonesia.

In 2005, Metro TV attracted broad public attention when they sent a team to cover the war in Iraq. Public attention and sympathy increased when militants in Iraq reportedly kidnapped reporter Mutya Hafid and cameraman Budiyanto. This event allowed Metro TV to gain momentum in popularity. Popularity not only increased for Metro TV; Meutya Hafid had also become very popular as a result of the massive coverage.

Figure 4: Meutya Hafid’s popularity on the Internet in 2005 was related to the kidnapping issue. (Fahmi, 2014a)

In August 2006, SCTV’s news program “Liputan 6” sent a team to cover the Lebanon war. SCTV’s team was the only Indonesian TV station represented in Lebanon, and was able to secure an interview with the Lebanon president, Emile Lahoud (Liputan6, 2006). SCTV’s effort to cover the war succeeded in gaining viewers’ attention in Indonesia. Moreover, during this period, the issue of the Lebanon war was massively reported in Indonesia.

Figure 5: the Lebanon war (perang Libanon) was very popular in Indonesia on the internet in August 2006 based on Google Trend. (Fahmi, 2014b)

In early 2009, TVOne captured Indonesian public attention when they sent two of their video journalists to cover the Second Intifada in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Although some of the Indonesian TV stations, such as Metro TV and ANTV, also sent journalists into Gaza, TVOne was the first Indonesian TV station reporting live from Gaza and it was the station that most frequently submitted reports during the war. In May 2010, TVOne sent another video journalist to Gaza on a humanitarian vessel, Mavi Marmara. This event grabbed public attention after all passengers on board were captured by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), including TVOne’s video journalist (Siregar, 2010).

In March 2010, RCTI’s news program “Seputar Indonesia” successfully obtained an exclusive interview with the US president, Barack Obama, at the White House. The interview was considered one of “Seputar Indonesia” major achievements as it was successful against all the other major Indonesian TV stations competing to get the exclusive interview with Obama (RCTI, 2010).

In the Indonesian context, issues that are related to the Palestinian conflict and President Obama are very popular as these issues resonate well with Indonesian viewers. The Indonesian government and the majority of the Indonesian people have been consistently opposed to the Israeli occupation in Palestine, while Obama has been very popular in Indonesia as it was widely reported he had spent four years of his childhood in Indonesia.

A series of studies has pointed out that ‘parachuted reporting’, as characterized by the above mentioned examples, has become widely adopted to avoid the high costs of maintaining a foreign bureau (Fleeson, 2003; Riegert, 2011; Sambrook, 2010). This research also highlights that mainstream media are still thirsty for foreign news while at the same time are struggling to find the most cost-efficient model in reporting foreign news. The fact that TVOne sent video journalists to cover overseas events is an indication of that. By employing a video journalist, TVOne could cut half the costs as a video journalist is not only a reporter but also a cameraman.

Is the foreign correspondent still needed?

Is the foreign correspondent still needed in an era of globally connected media in which everyone can access information about (almost) everything from anywhere, anytime? The majority of interviewees answered this question with similar responses: that despite the more globally connected world, foreign correspondents are still needed. They argue that foreign correspondents can provide specific angles that will resonate with viewers in Indonesia, ensure news accuracy and credibility, cater for the high demand for foreign news, and improve the company’s image as the best news TV station in Indonesia (Almarwan, 2014; Chaerani, 2014; Hamdani, 2014; Herdiawan, Salim, & Keda, 2014; Hirschmann, 2014; Kusmajadi, 2014; Prameswari, 2014; Subekti, 2014; Widiardi, 2014; Zulkifli, 2014).

Answers from TVOne’s foreign correspondents:

Foreign correspondent can enhance company’s brand image. It also could report an event overseas immediately and accurately. TVOne could also make a report from overseas that resonates to its viewers. It is different if TVOne relies to news supply from foreign news agencies that provide news from general perspective. (Kusmajadi, 2014)

Nowadays, news portion or program still prioritizes domestic news. On the other hand, news from overseas is taken from wire (international news agencies). Indeed, [news from] wire is faster rather than sending a team from Jakarta. However, news coverage which is based on direct observation from national TV station’s reporter clearly will be much more interesting. There are probably angles which have to do with Indonesia but wire does not cover. Indonesian should also be seen from foreign angle, to see Indonesia not from domestic perspective but international perspective. (Hirschmann, 2014)

It is urgently needed, particularly to supply news that is accurate. Indeed, foreign correspondent is not only useful to make sure news accuracy through direct observation, but also can prevent the media to use footage from other media illegally. (Hamdani, 2014)

Foreign correspondent overseas could deliver news/information in much more detail adapted to ‘viewers need’ as the correspondent has (nearly) the same thought, culture, character, and experience with the viewers…. Furthermore, producer is able to communicate directly with the correspondent. Therefore, news material is relevant to the expectation which is much more accurate, recent, and detail. Foreign correspondent could also narrow the distance between Indonesian who live overseas with people in Indonesia as their activities can also be watched at home. (Subekti, 2014)

Answers from TVOne’s news producers:

Foreign correspondent is our eye and someone who carry our TV station brand. The more foreign correspondent we have, the greater benefit we will get because the TV station can bring an event thousand miles away closer. The fact that we have representatives to cover a big event around the globe, it may also enhance our brand image. During the coverage of flight MH370, the rating of live report from Malaysia and Australia was high. (Chaerani, 2014)

Foreign correspondent overseas is still needed although we still could get news supply from foreign news agencies. Foreign correspondent may enable us to cover an issue based on the angle we need with exclusive footages as it is only us who has it. We also could have a report faster. Foreign correspondent will also enhance TVOne’s positive image as the best news TV station. (Zulkifli, 2014)

It is of course still needed. Although it is still possible to pick out or get news supply from overseas news agency, in some circumstances foreign correspondent is still needed, for example, to cover and report based on program maker’s angle. (Prameswari, 2014)

Answers from TVOne’s news-gathering manager and news-gathering coordinators (news-gathering department):

It is useful to attract public trust by delivering information directly not from other sources. The immediate deliveries of information could also be fulfilled. (Herdiawan et al., 2014)

Answers from TVOne’s executive producers

Surely it is still needed as TVOne does not have enough human resources to cover all news overseas. Because of the limitation, foreign correspondent is still needed. Moreover, TVOne as a news TV station has to cover events overseas as television viewers in Indonesia are also interested to the event that does not only occur in Indonesia. (Widiardi, 2014)

Foreign correspondent is still needed by TV station because news supply from international media or news agencies is still limited. Furthermore, getting news from first hand with internal reporter clearly much more credible rather than relying news agency, local resident, or relevant authority. (Almarwan, 2014)

Bakran Asmawi, the first Antara chief of bureau in New York from 1989 to 1993 argues that, despite the fact that we are now globally connected and people can easily get information they need anytime and anywhere, foreign correspondents are still needed as they provide the ability for people in Indonesia to gain a better understanding of foreign news issues. He also argues that international news agencies are not able to cater local demand for a specific angle of a news story:

I realize there is such opinion (that foreign correspondent is redundant). But we still need foreign correspondent overseas that could report things that has connection with us (people in Indonesia). Secondly, foreign correspondent has to be able to offer issues that international news agencies do not explore as they only provide news from general perspective. We could find an angle that is unique to be reported in Jakarta. Foreign correspondent has to know more about the condition in the receiving country and things that may be helpful for us to cover in issue. It is also important to get in touch and know more about Indonesians who live overseas. (Asmawi, 2014)

These observations show that the future of the foreign correspondent remains promising. It corresponds to what Archetti (2013b) has concluded that foreign news coverage is not diminishing but evolving within the new environment in which communication technology offers new opportunities. She also argues that the new communication technology enables foreign correspondents to explore news stories from an exclusive angle much more comprehensively than a reporter could ever do in the past.

The heightened competition in the news TV station industry

The launch of TVOne on 14 February 2008 brought a new dynamic to the Indonesian mainstream news TV industry. From 25 November 2000 to 13 February 2008, Metro TV had been the only Indonesian news TV station. Thus, when TVOne was launched, Metro TV had been dominating the TV news market. The launch of TVOne has significantly changed the industry. The two TV stations have become rivals to attract as many viewers as possible. In addition to the rivalry between these two news TV stations, the competition has become much more intense if we also include the other TV stations that also have news programs, such as, RCTI with “Seputar Indonesia” and SCTV with “Liputan 6”.

With a new slogan “Memang Beda” (Surely Different), TVOne became the first Indonesian TV station to establish an overseas bureau in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in January 2008. Initially, TVOne intended to have five overseas bureaus, in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Tokyo, Beijing, and Europe. TVOne planned to recruit Indonesian citizens who live in those particular cities as their foreign correspondents. However, this plan never materialized and TVOne has to date only established an overseas bureau in Kuala Lumpur. The establishment of the other bureaus was cancelled, reportedly due to budget constraints (Kusmajadi, 2014). Although it only has one overseas bureau, TVOne is still the only Indonesian TV station that runs an overseas bureau.

Figure 6: TVOne and MetroTV popularity on the Internet based on Google trends (Fahmi, 2014c)

During its third anniversary on 14 February 2011, TVOne announced its new slogan, “Menuju Satu Dunia” (Toward One World). This slogan is in line with TVOne’s plan to report more foreign news for its viewers in Indonesia. TVOne’s plan has been reflected in its move to gain a much more significant overseas presence.

TVOne has now come to its third anniversary. As we arrive at this point, we are here with a new tag line “Menuju Satu Dunia”. TVOne will always deliver the fastest and actual. TVOne also will continue to develop its creativity and innovation to create informative programs with quality. TVOne’s achievement as the selected news TV station for Indonesians does not necessarily make us complacent as in this third year TVOne will be starting new steps and process to go international by setting up bureau at some countries and giving more quantity of foreign news for our beloved viewers. (TVOne, 2011)

In November 2010, TVOne expanded their foreign news outreach by recruiting a foreign correspondent for the European region, based in Nuremberg, Germany. In January 2011, TVOne recruited another foreign correspondent for the North America region. The correspondent is based in New York. In July 2013, TVOne recruited another foreign correspondent for the Middle East region, based in Cairo, Egypt. In November 2013, TVOne recruited another foreign correspondent for the Australian region as an intern, based in Melbourne. It also plans to instal a permanent foreign correspondent in Australia when the internship of the correspondent is completed. TVOne has not provided a designated office for the correspondents, who do all the work from home or on location. This business model has been applied by TVOne as it is the most economical.

METRO TV also has foreign correspondents, who are primarily either Indonesian students studying overseas or former employees of METRO TV (Ismail, 2014). METRO TV currently has three foreign correspondents based in London, Dubai, and New York. While TVOne’s foreign correspondents are mostly contract-based employees (with the Malaysian correspondent the only one to hold an ongoing position), METRO TV’s foreign correspondents are not based on either contract or permanent employment but instead work as freelancers whose payment is based on specific projects (Widinugraha, 2014).

Between 2011 and 2014, three other Indonesian news TV stations were established: Kompas TV (2011), Berita Satu TV (2011), and Rajawali TV (2014). Among these three TV stations, only Kompas TV uses foreign correspondents. It employs the same business model as METRO TV. Their foreign correspondents are former Kompas TV employees and students who are studying overseas. Kompas TV has had three foreign correspondents in the United Kingdom, the United States (Washington DC), and Australia (Biesman, 2014). Rajawali TV, which was launched in early May 2014, has plans to recruit foreign correspondents (Yulistiawan, 2014).

However, the model used by METRO TV and Kompas TV of recruiting former employees and Indonesian students who are staying abroad is proving unsustainable as each one of them finally has to go back to Indonesia. It is said that two of Kompas TV’s foreign correspondents that were based in the UK and the US had returned to Indonesia after the correspondents finished their study (Biesman, 2014). Similarly, METRO TV’s foreign correspondent in Cairo returned to Indonesia in 2013 in order to stand in the 2014 Indonesian general election (Hamdani, 2014), while in New York, METRO TV’s correspondent has been frequently replaced:

The first correspondent was a lady, but he had gone back [to Indonesia] in August last year, [.] By the end of last year, there was a substitute, but, according to the person, he has planned to go back to Indonesia this June as his wife will be finishing her study. (Subekti, 2014)

Being a foreign correspondent for TVOne: what is needed?

The foreign correspondent recruitment model in which Indonesian citizens or students who are permanently or temporarily living overseas are recruited can be easily explained from editorial and budgeting perspectives. From an editorial perspective, a foreign correspondent living in a particular country usually can understand, write, and speak in the local language. This skill is crucial as through mastering the local language, the journalist can gain access to a lot more sources of information and have a better understanding of local issues. This point is also supported by Sambrook (2010, p. 48) that,

news consumers…demand higher levels of instant expertise in reporting – to deliver that you need correspondents who speak a local language, are immersed in local political and economic life and have contacts developed over years.

TVOne’s foreign correspondent has also acknowledged that mastering the local language is crucial, and becomes even more important when the foreign language is unfamiliar to most Indonesians. In this context, TVOne’s foreign correspondents in Egypt and Germany provide the following reasons:

I usually follow news from television, newspaper, and the internet. Some of them are in English and some of them are in Arabic. Local TV stations are in Arabic such as Nile TV and Akhbar Misr. BBC is in English while Al-Jazeera is available in English and Arabic. For us as a journalist, I think the Arabic skill is compulsory in order to be able to know the details and find gimmick so that the information can be varied from other mainstream media. (Hamdani, 2014)

Yes, I do (speak German), although the interview is in English, because I want to make sure that TVOne could recheck the interview. At headquarter, probably only one or two employees who understand German language. It is very helpful (for being able to speak German), for sure! Sometimes, we also need to do an “ice-breaking” with news sources. (Hirschmann, 2014)

From a business perspective, TVOne does not need to rent an office or housing for the journalist, or provide allowances and other benefits such as school fees for children, if they hire Indonesians who are living overseas, as opposed to TVOne’s responsibilities if they send a journalist from the home country. In addition, TVOne does not need to allocate any budget for additional regular items of expenditure such as the purchase of broadcast equipment or internet access. For example, it is common for foreign correspondents who are contract-based or freelancers to provide their own broadcast equipment (such as, camera. microphone, and tripod), internet connection and mobile phone for communication and coordination with the main office in Jakarta. Except for the correspondent based at TVOne’s foreign bureau in Kuala Lumpur, foreign correspondents from other Indonesian TV stations are paid based on the reports they submit.

Most correspondents already had a job when they were recruited by TVOne. Indeed, some of them are still doing the previous job they had while also working as a foreign contributor for TVOne. Thus, working for TVOne provides them with additional income. It is noteworthy that only one of the four foreign correspondents at TVOne was formally hired as a permanent employee. This also indicates that there has not been any particular process, standard and level of expertise required by applicants in the recruitment process to become a foreign correspondent at TVOne.

I was in fad sending the application. Coincidentally, TVOne was looking for foreign correspondents. It was for TVOne’s third anniversary. It was recorded by MURI (Indonesian Worlds Records Museum) that TVOne was the first Indonesian TV station who its five journalists made a live report from five countries [It was actually from six countries (Vivanews, 2011)] at the same time. (Subekti, 2014)

[It was] during the repatriation of the body of Mrs. Ainun (the wife of the third Indonesian president, Habibie) [from German to Indonesia]. Aries Margono (One of Vivanews group leaders) asked me to help TVOne. During that time I was still working for Gatra magazine (as foreign correspondent in Germany). However, Gatra did not assign me to cover the issue due to the expensive cost sending me to Indonesia. As I arrived in Jakarta with the deceased Mrs. Ainun’s body, I was brought [by TVOne] to be interviewed at “Kabar Petang” and “Apa Kabar Indonesia” programs. Nurjaman (TVOne’s vice editor in-chief at that time) then recruited me. (Hirschmann, 2014)

I used to send news package and live report (in 2013). My status in doing that was still as an Indonesian citizen who lived in Egypt. TVOne was satisfied with my news packaged and live report. It was because of the event here (Egypt revolution which started in early 2011). After doing it for about six months, I sent my CV to TVOne. I was accepted and signed the contract. At the beginning (in 2011), they (TVOne) just asked some help. I took the request seriously. Finally, I submit my CV. Much earlier, I used to manage TVOne’s teams that were assigned in Egypt. Since then, I built a constant communication with TVOne. It was plausible as my business is in the travel industry. I manage all of their travel while in Egypt, including helping them to get the Visa. (Hamdani, 2014)

I applied as TVOne was looking for foreign correspondents in Malaysia. The process was the same like others. I sent an application and then being interviewed. It seemed that there were many applicants as the vacancy was published openly including at the Indonesian embassy in KL (Kuala Lumpur). I was still in KL as I just completed my master degree at University Malaya. (Kusmajadi, 2014)

TVOne has focused on recruiting foreign correspondents that are already based in the target country (Herdiawan et al., 2014). As a result, four of five TVOne’s foreign correspondents are Indonesian citizens who have stayed or planned to live in the designated overseas country for years. The only TVOne’s foreign correspondent with student status is in Australia. However, TVOne is now in the process of recruiting a permanent correspondent for Australia region as the current foreign correspondent is only an intern.

TVOne’s strategy is different to other Indonesian news TV stations such as Kompas TV and Metro TV. These stations do not have foreign correspondents that have stayed or intended to stay for years in the designated countries as most of the correspondents are students or former students who eventually will return to Indonesia. In this regard, I consider that TVOne’s strategy is better as it may sustain the news supply to Indonesia. It also maintains the network and level of expertise of the correspondent.

However, the uncertain recruitment processes and lack of consideration for the qualifications of candidates for the position of foreign correspondent with TVOne may have negative consequences in terms of the quality and standards of reporting from the correspondent.

Figure 7: TVOne’s foreign correspondent background (Hamdani, 2014; Hirschmann, 2014; Kusmajadi, 2014; Subekti, 2014).

The table above shows that the skills of TVOne’s foreign correspondents are varied and only one of them has had a relatively strong background in the TV news industry. These circumstances can be easily understood by considering that some of the correspondents may need more time to master the skills required of a foreign correspondent for a TV station. Moreover, as a foreign correspondent for TVOne, the journalist needs to be able to work independently as a video journalist. They have to be able to do independent research, news planning, writing a script, interviewing, live reporting and video editing.

It (being foreign correspondent for TV stations) is hard-core for me. I used to write 8000 characters (3-4 pages), and now I only need to write a three-quarter page. I also used to make a live report for radio (only voice and sound), now I report with camera (visual). I also prepare all the things by myself, from carrying seven kilogram backpack while carrying suitcase, preparing my own travel, taking video footages based on TV criteria, interview while also holding the camera (for the interview), live on-tape, make-up for myself, and looking for gadgets that I need to support my job (as a video journalist). There was no standard of procedure. I just jumped in. There was no training….(laugh). (Hirschmann, 2014)

I was proactive to adjust with the new working skills. Probably, main office (in Jakarta) was too busy so they did not pay attention on that (training for foreign correspondent). So I thought, if I was not proactive I will not progress. Finally I went back to Indonesia and asked to do an internship at TVOne for about a month. (Hamdani, 2014)

As a foreign correspondent, I have to do the live report up to eight times in a day. Previously, I considered myself as too “coward” to perform at the front of camera. As it was required, I finally could do it. (Kusmajadi, 2014)

Three interviewees for this study (one manager and two news-gathering coordinators) argue that TVOne’s foreign correspondents need to improve their journalistic skills. Based on their assessment, there are at least five aspects that need to be improved:

1. News supply and contribution is low;

2. News sources are very limited;

3. Live-report material is dominated by information from local media;

4. Initiative to give news agenda to the main office in Jakarta is considered low; and

5. News content is not balanced.

On the other hand, TVOne’s foreign correspondents argue that this lack of skills and inadequate quality of reporting is caused by the fact that they work alone to cover an issue, which sometimes involves managing diverse and difficult demands. “During the live-report, I sometime deliver the information unclearly. They (people in Jakarta) sometimes forget that foreign correspondent (I) works alone.” (Hirschmann, 2014)

Archetti (2013b) has observed that, in London more than thirty years ago, foreign correspondent was usually held by a senior and well-experienced journalist. With an average age of 41, these correspondents had worked as journalists for an average of 18 years each. She also points out that today, foreign correspondent roles in London are held by relatively younger journalists with less experience. However, she does not suggest that this trend is caused by a decrease in the standard of professional qualifications required to be a foreign correspondent. Instead, she points out that, younger journalists are recruited to be foreign correspondents as they are technologically more literate, able to work harder and longer hours.

You need to be a bit younger and a bit modern to use all the technologies available. A Spanish correspondent, also 30, confirmed that in his organization there is a mixture of young and more senior correspondents: ‘‘a city like London is very dynamic and requires maybe people with more energy than experienced analysis’’. Both correspondents, however, forcefully stressed that ‘‘being young’’ does not mean ‘‘being inexperienced’’: ‘‘we have been working before in international news . . . we are young, but we are keen’’. (Archetti, 2013b, p. 849)

Archetti (2013b) argues that the emergence of a younger generation of foreign correspondents underscores the increasing influence of technological advances and industrial developments in the news sector. Foreign correspondents are now expected to be able to use the most recent technology in broadcasting and fulfill the industrial demand to produce more news with less budget.

Expanding foreign news outreach, beyond the foreign correspondent

In December 2013, TVOne signed a cooperation agreement with Al-Jazeera in Doha, Qatar. Based on the agreement, TVOne and Al-Jazeera will have reciprocal access to each other’s networks, foreign correspondents and equipment. TVOne’s reporters will be trained according to the standards adopted by Al-Jazeera. This new model of cooperation has opened up new ways of foreign news reporting:

TVOne hopes that by cooperating with Al-Jazeera, it will expand TVOne’s outreach. It can provide information in broader, deeper, and faster manner. (TVOne, 2013)

Figure 8: TVOne's bureau and foreign correspondents (Fahmi, 2014d)

It has been argued that Indonesian news TV stations are still focussing on expanding their local networks. This is also consistent with Indonesian Broadcasting Law 2002 according to which the Indonesian national TV stations are mandated to develop networks with other local TV stations in many regions in Indonesia to promote local content. TVOne has established four regional bureaus in Indonesia: Medan, Makassar, Jogjakarta, and Surabaya, while Metro TV has seven bureaus that are located in Bali, Bandung, Jogjakarta, Makassar, Medan, Palembang, and Surabaya.

While TVOne and Metro TV focus on establishing bureaus, Kompas TV and Rajawali TV focus on expanding their cooperation with other local networks. Until May 2014, Rajawali TV had collaborated with 32 local TV stations (Yulistiawan, 2014) and Kompas TV had collaborated with 25 local TV stations (KompasTV, 2014).

We are still concentrating to the domestic because we are TV network. It is different with national TV station…. Internally at Kompas TV, we have never specifically discussed about foreign correspondent. Isn’t it in contrary? Nowadays, there are many international TV stations that want to enter Indonesia, moreover, in this digital media era. In economy, Indonesia has become among the six largest countries. It is very attractive for foreign TV stations (Dewanto, 2014)

According to Dewanto (2014), international TV stations such as Bloomberg TV and CNN have started to see Indonesia as an important player in the global news broadcast sector. Some international TV stations have already started to do business in Indonesia through cooperation with the Indonesian news TV stations, and Bloomberg TV and CNN are two of the international TV stations that initiated this industry cooperation. In July 2013, Bloomberg TV Indonesia started to operate in Indonesia in cooperation with local investor Rosan Roeslani. On the other hand, CNN Indonesia started to operate in early 2014 in cooperation with another media mogul, Chairul Tanjung, the owner of Trans Corporation, an Indonesian TV network company. CNN Indonesia is also reported to begin a 24 hour news broadcast service in Indonesian language in June 2014 (Fung, 2014). In 2013, CNBC was also reportedly negotiating with B-Channel (now Rajawali TV) for a cooperative agreement. However, this plan never materialized as negotiations became deadlocked (Yulistiawan, 2014).

Based on the Indonesian Broadcasting Law 2002, foreign-owned TV stations are prohibited from operating in Indonesia (Indonesia, 2002). Therefore, the only way to do business in Indonesia is through cooperation with the local investors (Saputro, 2014). Through this model, Bloomberg TV Indonesia has benefited significantly from access to the Bloomberg global network, with news content and live reports from their offices and bureaus around the globe. Furthermore, these benefits have been reciprocated, in which Bloomberg as a global network gains direct access to Indonesian news content and live reports.

We are also connected with Bloomberg international network. Thus, we could do live report from anywhere as long as Bloomberg has network in the country. In a day, what we always do is undertaking live report from and to Hong Kong and London. The content is certainly on market and economy issues. However, as India has been now conducting the general election in the last few days, we also request live report from Bloomberg TV India. (Saputro, 2014)

Working collaboratively between international and local TV stations, I argue, is another example that there are feasible ways of receiving news content from overseas. Against this backdrop, Indonesian news TV stations can not only set up foreign bureaus, employing foreign correspondents or sending in ‘parachuted’ journalists, but also cooperate with the international TV networks or even overseas local TV stations. Sambrook (2010, p. 97) has argued that innovations are crucial to face the constant changes in the media landscape:

The news industry, always conservative about itself, is caught in transition from analogue past to a digital future and is worried it will not survive the change. Many elements, like multimillion dollar bureaux, will not. But much will, and there will be innovation and new opportunities to more than compensate for what is lost…. What’s important from the old world must be transported and reinterpreted for the new.

Conclusions and recommendations

Economic pressures, globalisation and the rapid and recent development in information and communication technologies have put into question whether employing foreign correspondent is still crucial in reporting foreign news. This study finds that, despite the economic pressures and much more globally connected world, foreign correspondent role in reporting foreign news from overseas for the local audiences is central and crucial. The main reason is that demand for foreign news is still high, particularly in regard to issues that resonate in Indonesia, such as the Second Intifada in Palestine, Barack Obama’s plan to visit Indonesia, and the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 and the subsequent search in the Indian Ocean.

TVOne’s policy to recruit Indonesian who has stayed years in the designated country as foreign correspondent is the most advanced strategy to be leading in foreign news reporting in the midst of heightened competition in the Indonesian TV news industry. By employing this policy, TVOne can maintain the sustainability of news supply that is internally produced (not from foreign news agencies) from overseas. While the foreign correspondent can continuously develop its skill; maintain and develop networks in the designated countries; and deepen its understanding of the designated country’s social, political, and cultural condition.

However, this study has also found out that the way that foreign correspondent work for TV stations today is not the same as what it was previously. Foreign correspondents are now employed in a much more economical way. For TV stations, there is no need to employ a reporter, a camera operator, and staff administration, which means much more money is available for higher salaries. TV stations also avoid setting up foreign bureaus as this adds significant costs to the news-gathering operations. In the Indonesian context, foreign correspondents are now expected to work independently as video journalists. They should have practical skills such as the ability to conduct research, develop and propose news coverage ideas, conduct interviews, write stories, make live reports at short notice and edit videos. However, it also has been pointed out that employing one person for multiple jobs may downgrade the quality of foreign correspondents’ reportage. Evaluation between the stakeholders is needed to solve this problem. By the same token, training for the correspondents is needed to improve and maintain the quality of their news report.

As employing foreign correspondent without setting up a foreign bureau has been proven much more efficient, TVOne needs to consider to recruit more foreign correspondents overseas, particularly in strategic countries, based on Indonesian national interest, such as China, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia. However, this study also suggests that TVOne needs to develop a consistent pattern on how to recruit the foreign correspondent, such as the process of recruitment; and what skills and criteria is needed to be TVOne’s foreign correspondent.

Another model for accessing a foreign news supply that is relevant to domestic audiences is through cooperation with other international TV stations, gaining access to news content from the international TV station through this cooperation. It has been argued that TVOne has adopted this model through its cooperative arrangements with Al-Jazeera in which both TV stations can access news content from each another. Furthermore, the fact that foreign news companies are not allowed to establish their own TV station in Indonesia, has opened up these opportunities for new types of cooperation. This model has been followed by Bloomberg TV Indonesia and CNN Indonesia in which the local version of the international news TV station is owned by local investors through a cooperation that Saputro (2014) argues is similar to a franchise model. Using this model, Bloomberg TV Indonesia, for example, can access news content from the Bloomberg global network.

This study reiterates what Archetti (2013b); Sambrook (2010) have argued: that the future for foreign correspondents remains promising. Now, the challenge is to see how news TV stations can adapt and develop the most effective and efficient model for utilising foreign correspondents that fits current developments in the news TV industry based on economic calculation, information and technology development, and globalisation.