Journalism and Politics in Indonesia

A Critical Biography of Mochtar Lubis (1922-2004) as Editor and Author

David T Hill author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:13th Dec '10

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

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Journalism and Politics in Indonesia cover

Mochtar Lubis was one of Indonesia’s best-known newspaper editors, authors and cultural figures, with a national, regional and international prominence that he retained from the early 1950s until his recent death in 2004. This book traces the major events in the life of Mochtar Lubis, which is also a prism through which much of Indonesia’s post-independence history can be interpreted. This book is also the story of Indonesia in the second half of the twentieth century, when the people of the archipelago became an independent nation, and when print media and the influential figures who controlled and produced newspapers, played a pivotal role in national political, educational and cultural life, defining Indonesia. Editors with strong personalities dominated the industry and sparred with the nation’s leadership; Lubis was a vocal critic of the abuse of power and a thorn in the side of the country’s first two presidents, becoming synonymous with combative journalism. Under both Sukarno and Suharto, Lubis had his newspaper closed down and was imprisoned. As the only comprehensive biography of this towering figure, the book provides a unique insight into the history and development of media, literature and the political system in Indonesia.

"Hill's book is important for a number of reasons. First, its subject is a phenomenal figure who looms large not only in Indonesian media but also in Indonesian politics. Second, Hill has done a great job as an academic writer. Third, this book is also important because it sets a context for Lubis' struggle [... ] Hill is successful in producing a richly nuanced account of Lubis and the events that shaped life of the famed journalist." - Her Suheryanto, review in The Jakarta Post, Sunday, April 04, 2010


"Hill's book is important for a number of reasons. First, its subject is a phenomenal figure who looms large not only in Indonesian media but also in Indonesian politics. Second, Hill has done a great job as an academic writer. Third, this book is also important because it sets a context for Lubis' struggle [... ] Hill is successful in producing a richly nuanced account of Lubis and the events that shaped life of the famed journalist." - Her Suheryanto, review in The Jakarta Post, Sunday, April 04, 2010

"If Indonesian cultural and intellectual history is ever to move from the margins to the mainstream of the nation’s story, we are going to need more researchers of Hill’s calibre and commitment, and more books of the type he has pioneered here."- Keith Foulcher, Asian Studies Review, 34: 4, 513-543

"What Hill writes is definitely not a glorifying hagiography, but instead presents a more sober story of the life of this heroic figure, producing a knowledgeable study of the press, politics and literature in Indonesia in the second half of the 20th Century."- Edwin Wieringa, Anthropos 105.2010, 650-1

ISBN: 9780415666848

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 530g

288 pages