Copy editor(s) needed, The Jakarta Globe (Jakarta, Indonesia)

The Jakarta Globe is looking for at least one experienced copy editor who wants a new challenge in a growing media market. We are a new, English-language paper in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. We're launching at 60,000 circulation with the goal of being at 200,000 within five years (not too unreasonable for a city of 8 million).

Interested? Here's what you need:

1) Newspaper experience. If you've worked at a newspaper and know how one operates (read: deadlines), that's a big plus in your favor.
2) Ability to relocate. Launch date is in weeks, not months, so the sooner you can get here, the better.

If you have experience living and/or working in a country where English is not the first language, so much the better. It's not necessary, but that's one less thing to which you'd have to adjust once you get here. Having newspaper experience is the big thing.

You won't get rich at this gig — then again, if you wanted to get rich, you wouldn't be in journalism, now would you? The good part is the cost of living is extremely affordable. We get paid in US dollars, and one American dollar will get you about 10,000 Indonesian rupiah. I can go down to the local FoodMart, get three 1.5 liter bottles of water and a couple boxes of Pocky and only be out $3.

We have an underserved market, ownership committed to a quality product and a chance to work with talent drawn from around the globe (US, UK, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, etc.). If you want to help us build this paper into one of Asia's best, e-mail your resume, clips and references to Editor in Chief Lin Neumann at aln1951@gmail.com. If you have more questions, feel free to send them to Lin or ask me either on this thread or via PM.

 

what's pocky?

 

I thought this was for Lean Dean's new single copy editing desk.

 

sorry for all these questions, but i figured i'd hit them all up at once. maybe it'll save you some time on pms.

1. is anti-americanism as fervent over there as we sometimes see on cnn? last thing i want to do if i move thousands of miles away is to be cooped up in my apartment since they'll want to burn infidels at the stake. (not saying the news reports are 100 percent accurate, of course, but figured it's worth asking.)

2. what airlines fly to/from the states?

3. how much of an english language presence is there?

4. will the paper help in obtaining a work visa? (i presume you'd need one.)

5. how many other americans are there on staff? young staff? older folk?

6. is housing included as part of the deal? i know in some foreign outposts, it is.

 

Little sticks of awesome.

 

No idea on most of your questions, wwdd, but a quick Expedia search revealed no direct flights from LAX or SFO to Jakarta, but plenty that go through Manila, Seoul or Hong Kong.

 

If the pay is good, this could be a really interesting job.
I'm out of journalism now, but if I hadn't set off an different career, I'd look into this.

 

It sounds like the pay isn't good from the wording of the posting.

 

If the pay was good, they would probably say so. And they wouldn't use pocky as an example why it's affordable.

 

pocky is sickeningly good, though. it really is.

 

There are more than 220 million people in Indonesia, and almost 90 percent of them are Muslim. That said, hard-line fundamentalists are few and far between. Pork, booze and other non-halal foodstuffs are readily available, and there aren't bands of roaming zealots converting people at gunpoint. Being a bule in certain parts of town may get you a sideways look now and again, but you won't find trouble unless you go looking for it.

You won't find many direct flights from the US. I took China Airlines from LAX to Taiwan, then on to Jakarta. Between China Air, JAL, Singapore Air and a handful of other Asian airlines (I wouldn't wish United on my worst enemy), you shouldn't have trouble finding a flight. Whoever you fly, the company will reimburse the cost of the ticket.

Everyone in the office speaks English just fine. On the street, your odds lower, but you should be able to get by without much trouble. A phrasebook and a friendly attitude will take you a long way. Indonesian is one of the easiest Asian languages to learn, too -- same alphabet, no kana or kanji, no tonal language to sweat, lots of loan words, etc.

Yes, the paper will take care of your work visa. They'll need a copy of your degree, your resume, a copy of your passport and some photos (they'll tell you which size and how many), all of which you can round up before you fly over.

Added bonus: You have to be out of the country to receive your work permit (can't get it while you're on a tourist visa), so the company flies you to Singapore for a day or two.

As I said in the initial post, we have all kinds here. The office is about a 50/50 split between Indonesians and white folks. The copy desk is almost entirely younger folks, comprised mostly of Americans, Aussies and Kiwis, with two or three old heads to keep order.

For the first month (or until you find an apartment), the company will put you up at a very nice hotel within walking distance of the office. You get a $500 monthly housing allowance -- which will more than cover a 2-bed apartment in downtown Jakarta -- on top of your monthly salary.

Other bennies include full ex-pat health insurance, which includes evacuation if there's anything the doctors here can't treat, and three weeks of vacation once you start (not once you've been here for a year).

Other questions?