Koran IDN Times Vol. 2 is Just Launched and This is What We Learned From It

Tuesday, 13 August 2019 around 9.10 AM, we sat in a fast food restaurant in Sarinah area, Jakarta. Each of us were staring at our gadget screen, checking our Instagram and Twitter back and forth. We searched keywords like Koran IDN Times, IDN Times, IDN Media, @idntimes, #KoranIDNTimes, and many more.

About an hour earlier, we were walking on sidewalks near Bundaran HI. While greeting those who were on their way to office, we also giving away Koran IDN Times vol. 2. Apart from us, there were dozens others Timmy - name for IDN Media employee -  in different locations who also giving away the newspaper.

Talking about Koran IDN Times vol. 2, the newspaper left a memorable story for us who were involved in the production process. The first edition of the newspaper launched in June 2019 to celebrate IDN Media’s 5th anniversary. Featuring photo of Jokowi together with Prabowo on cover and title ‘Bersama Melukis Keberagaman Indonesia’, the newspaper stole attention in the midst of rising political tension. 

When our CEO, Winston Utomo, asked for the second edition, we instantly felt under pressure. Koran IDN Times vol. 2 would be released to commemorate Indonesian Independence Day. We needed to make it a memorable one. So we started the brainstorming process, three weeks before the release date.

One by one, we completed the articles where one of it was from a research done by IDN Research Institute about how millennial perceived tolerance issues. Unfortunately, a week before the release date we haven’t found the right concept for newspaper cover. We clearly remembered that the concept that finally being used was actually the last one we prepared, inspired from internet memes that delivered message with funny way.

When finally we had to decide which cover to use, we hesitated to present the last concept. We felt that the concept was more like a joke than a proper commemoration of Indonesian independence. When Winston unexpectedly pick that concept, we started panicking. We reread the history of Indonesia’s independence proclamation. Making sure we wrote the right name and chronology. Let alone the uneasy feeling about how people would respond to that cover.

The hesitation continued even until a day before the release date. After some consideration, we decided to execute our plan. We believed that we didn’t change Indonesian history, instead we inserted facts about the proclamation of Indonesian independence that might be forgotten. We hope it can help the younger generation to remember our independence history in a more relatable setting.

While drinking ice tea and cooling down after giving away newspaper along sidewalk from Bundaran HI to Sarinah, we anxiously waiting to see how people share their reaction to Koran IDN Times vol. 2. We started to ease down when we finally saw people started sharing positive reactions on social media. Some of them were excited to get the limited edition of Koran IDN Times, others were having a good laugh reading the witty cover.

We learned a lot from the making of this newspaper. In the process of creating something, we often push ourselves too hard to perfection. The fear of making mistakes and taking risks weighed down ourselves and limit our creativity. Instead, shouldn’t it be the best part?

Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun. - Mary Lou Cook

P.S. Thank you to everyone who have shown their appreciation to Koran IDN Times.