Local Press, Democratization, and Freedom of Expression: The History of Kaltim Post during Indonesia’s Transition from the New Order to Reformasi (1988–2001)

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-624-6_31How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Press; Kaltim Post; New Order; Reform Era; Local History

Abstract

The press plays a vital role in democracy as a means for the public to voice their opinions. Therefore, responsible press freedom is a crucial element in the life of a nation and state. This study examines the developmental dynamics of one of the local newspapers in East Kalimantan, namely Kaltim Post, during the New Order era through the early Reform era (1988–2001). This study focuses on the background of the establishment of Kaltim Post and its development during the New Order and Reform eras. The study aims to analyze the factors underlying the establishment of Kaltim Post and examine the impact of national political changes on political coverage in Kaltim Post. The method used is the historical method, which includes heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The research results indicate that Kaltim Post was established to meet the need for a daily newspaper in East Kalimantan and served as a tool for social control. During the New Order era, Kaltim Post was very cautious in presenting news due to strict government control. Following the Reformasi and the enactment of Press Law No. 40 of 1999, press freedom became more open. However, Kaltim Post continues to face new challenges in the form of ongoing press control and competition with digital media. Therefore, this study found that government policies have a significant impact on press freedom.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Zidan Aji Pangestu Putra
AU  - A. Sainal
AU  - Joko Sayono
AU  - Daya Negeri Wijaya
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/19
TI  - Local Press, Democratization, and Freedom of Expression: The History of Kaltim Post during Indonesia’s Transition from the New Order to Reformasi (1988–2001)
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on History, Social Sciences, and Education (ICHSE 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 457
EP  - 471
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-624-6_31
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-624-6_31
ID  - Putra2026
ER  -