Message-ID: <199505221346.JAA53679@atlanta.american.edu>What's missing from current choices among the print and online news media relating to Indonesia?
It's best to be brief, blunt, and candid in answering this question.
There is no source which provides a daily supply of translations into English, accompanied by informed commentary in English, on the most sensitive issues facing Indonesia today. No one has wanted to work hard enough and assume the financial and personal risks needed to do this job as it should be done.
This is one very serious gap. It is no wonder that some still consider Indonesia a 'mystery' and others dub it 'invisible.'
But come June 1995 -- next month -- this gap will be filled. Indonesia Publications' new periodical
debuts in June in a choice of daily email or weekly print formats.
INTEL will complement and go far beyond what is available in the other specialized Indonesian Publications periodicals. You will still want to have the steady flow from resident correspondents available in INDONESIA NEWS SERVICE (daily) or INDONESIA REPORTS - LOG (weekly). You may also need the extensive documentation in our other periodicals and in our set of 10 Briefing Books.
But if you really want to understand what is happening in contemporary Indonesia, you simply _must_ read INTEL. There is nowhere else to go for such depth, breadth, and analysis delivered so regularly, so frequently, and in such quantity.
There are many reasons why the present gap will only be filled by INTEL.
o Much raw, untranslated material is often very hard to get. Bits and pieces available do not even come close to the vast amount of information available.
o To purchase an adequate, reliable supply of original Indonesian print sources requires a very substantial budget dedicated to this purpose -- plus a solid knowledge of the very diverse and quickly changing Indonesian press.
o Translations from Indonesian-language media are not a trivial task. It's not hard to learn to speak simple Indonesian. It is another matter altogether to comprehend -- and then take the added step of putting into good English -- the sophisticated formal Indonesian of the indigenous press with its very large lexicon and ever-changing ubiquitous acronyms.
o Accurate translations on which you can rely are very scarce. Misinformation about Indonesia spread by faulty translations is often repeated in an endless cycle.
o Press digests skimp on or deliberately omit often vital details available in the original Indonesian-language sources. This holds particularly true for Indonesia's small, self-censored English-language press.
o Those who can translate well are not necessarily those who can provide sensible, informed commentary.
o Those who might otherwise provide this commentary are not keen to do it. Too much frankness could cost them their jobs, perks, or assignments.
INTEL will do things differently. From its abundant, carefully selected sources, only the best materials will be translated. These translations will be scrupulously done. Organizational names and acronyms will be rendered in side-by-side Indonesian and English. Above all, INTEL will not pull its punches in choice of material or in its own commentary.
We aim to make INTEL into such a pervasive and critical presence that even highly informed Indonesians living in Indonesia will not want to do without it.
We aim to make INTEL an abiding conscience for today's Indonesia.
In email format, INTEL will come to your emailbox daily. This email edition hence is formally called Indonesia Intelligence Daily. So that even those with bulging emailboxes won't miss anything, each INTEL translation sent via email will have the identifying world 'INTEL' in the subject line along with the translation's number in serial order. If you begin your subscription from day one, your first translation will have the subject line: INTEL #1. Translations are emailed literally minutes after completion.
All the week's translations will be compiled into a print edition and mailed each weekend. This print edition hence is formally called Indonesia Intelligence Weekly and comes to you via first class mail in the U.S. and airmail elsewhere. There will be 48 weekly issues per year.
It is to your financial advantage to purchase INTEL in email rather than print format. You will also then be able to use INTEL in a much more timely way. You may subscribe for a full year or for only 3 months at a time. These are the subscription rates:
INTEL (email) - Indonesia Intelligence Daily
1 year - Anywhere: US$452
3 months - Anywhere: US$120
INTEL (print) - Indonesia Intelligence Weekly
1 year - U.S./Canada: US$640
Elsewhere: US$992
3 months - U.S./Canada: US$170
Elsewhere: US$264
For copyright purposes, the email INTEL should be treated the same way as a print periodical. The email edition of INTEL may not be further distributed electronically. Doing so without explicit prior permission from the publisher may result in suspension or forfeiture of the subscription.
However, email subscribers may mount one copy of INTEL on a local area network open only to members of that network and make one print copy. This is akin to a complete photocopy of a print periodical held on the reserve shelves of a library and is very generous 'fair use' under current copyright law.
Under no circumstances may the email INTEL be placed on an online list, newsgroup, or forum, or on an ftp, gopher, or WWW site accessible to the public. Such rights may be purchased but will generally be out of reach for most individuals and institutions. Less encompassing royalty agreements for special, more limited dissemination may be negotiated.
A free sample of the email INTEL will be made available on request once publication starts in June. A sample print INTEL must be prepaid based on the pro-rated annual cost. Back issues of INTEL will be available in disk or print format at the respective pro-rated annual email and print costs. New subscriptions will begin with the current issue unless back issues are specifically requested as well.
Orders for INTEL, email or print, must ordinarily be prepaid. However, special arrangements may be made for charter subscribers who provide personal or institutional guarantees of timely payment.
Indonesia Publication strongly prefers to deal directly with subscribers rather than with subscription agents. Use of a subscription agent is done entirely at the risk of the subscriber.
To begin your subscription, send a check (personal, institutional, bank, or traveller's), postal money order, or cash to:
INTEL
Indonesia Publications
7538 Newberry Lane
Lanham, MD 20706
U.S.A.
Be sure to include your complete email or postal address.
Checks and money orders should be made payable to Indonesia Publications. Payment ideally should be made in U.S. dollars but may also be sent in any convertible currency after adding a conversion fee equivalent to US$2. Posted invoices incur a US$5 handling charge, but email invoices are free.
All editorial and administrative communications concerning INTEL should ideally be emailed to apakabar@clark.net or apakabar@igc.apc.org with the word INTEL in the subject line. All email to these addresses is read only by the INTEL editor, John MacDougall, who will also email necessary replies.
