Framing Glasnost and Perestroika, criticising the New Order: an analysis of Kompas’ news coverage

This research examines how Kompas, an Indonesian press company, framed the issues of glasnost and perestroika in its daily publications from 1986 to 1991 to criticise the authoritarian New Order regime. This research found that Kompas attempted to negotiate with the New Order’s centralised authoritarian power through editorial articles on the issues of glasnost and perestroika. Compared to the Old Order Indonesia, the New Order government’s bilateral relations with Russia declined significantly. However, from 1986 to 1991, the frequency of news coverage about Russia (the Soviet Union) was massive. Such frequent coverage was inseparable from the implementation of glasnost and perestroika reform movements in the Soviet Union, which defined the zeitgeist at the time. This research found that Kompas implicitly criticised the New Order regime by articulating that change may occur in an authoritarian and military state, if the government had the determination. Applying a media framing analysis to examine Kompas editorial articles from 1986 to 1991, this research demonstrates that comprehensive media framing strategies are required in exploring issues related to authoritarian political regimes, as the strategies allow the press to express criticism while evading the risk of being banned. Negotiation with existing power holders is necessary so that the media may uphold its role as one of the primary pillars of democracy that is capable of criticising existing power holders.