Master Thesis Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan Media Management Master Program Utilization of New Media by Traditional Media Companies in Indonesian Media Industry Charlie Tjokrodinata Degree project in: Media Management i Supervisor: Dr Christopher Rosenqvist - SSE ii Abstract – English The rise of social media represents a new challenge to the traditional media industry. Some traditional media companies either shy away on the idea of utilizing social media to enhance their services, but many others actually embrace this as an opportunity to reposition themselves within the industry. This study tries to figure out the extent of the proliferation of social media by the traditional players. The research approach focused on case study methodology through quantitative and qualitative methods. Record analysis of social media utilization by the traditional media companies represented the quantitative method. As many as 483 media companies from radio, television and printed media companies were sampled, they are companies under twelve national media conglomerates and one largest independent media group in Indonesia. Availability and a few simple statistics of web sites and three most popular social media platforms were recorded. The interviews with three different media companies and observations represented the qualitative method. The purpose is to understand the background motives of the social media utilization. The study reveals that utilization of web sites and social media platforms by the traditional media companies is quite extensive. The result revealed that 72% media companies have a web site, and more than 90% have Facebook accounts. Twitter, while not as popular as Facebook, still has as much as 73.6% of sampled media companies joining the platform. YouTube is the lowest of the three platforms with 27.3%. Apart from the high adoption rate, the traditional media companies also actively participate in the conversation, especially for Facebook and Twitter. The interviews showed that the extent of digitalization is quite extensive. The three media have their own digital strategy, which involved integration with their traditional platforms, customer engagement and monetization. The utilization of web and social media platforms Indonesia in general, and by the traditional media were caused by some factors such as media democratization, rising number of middle class, good economic growth, and high mobile penetration among others. iii Abstract – Swedish Uppkomsten av sociala medier representerar en ny utmaning för den traditionella medieindustrin. En del traditionella medieföretag har undvikit att använda sig av sociala medier för sina tjänster, medan andra företag har omfamnat de sociala medierna och använder sig av dem för att om möjligt ompositionera sig inom industrin. Denna studie försöker utforska spridningen av sociala medier inom traditionell media i Indonesien. Studien är genomförd som en fallstudie med användning av både kvalitativ och kvantitativ metod. En analys baserad på användningen av sociala medier av traditionella medieföretag representerar den kvantitativa metoden. Så många som 483 medier från radio, tv och tryckta medier är med i urvalet. De 483 medieföretagen i urvalet är alla antingen under ett av de tolv nationella mediekonglomeraten eller under den största oberoende mediekoncernen i Indonesien. Tillgänglighet och enkel statistik över användandet av webbplatser eller hemsidor, samt användandet av de tre mest populära sociala medierna (Twitter, Facebook och Youtube), har registrerats. Intervjuer med tre olika medieföretag samt observationer representerar den kvalitativa metoden. Syftet med studien är att förstå bakgrundsmotiven till den sociala medieanvändningen i Indonesien. Undersökningen visar att användningen av webbplatser och sociala medier av de traditionella medieföretagen är ganska omfattande. Resultaten visade att 72 % av medieföretagen har en egen hemsida, och mer än 90 % av företagen har Facebook-konton. Twitter, vilket visade sig vara mindre populärt än Facebook, visade sig fortfarande användas av så mycket som 73,6 % av företagen i urvalet. YouTube är det minst populära mediet av de tre med ett genomslag på 27,3 %. Resultaten visade inte bara på en ovanligt hög användningsfrekvens, utan de visade även på att företagen aktivt deltar i samtal med kunderna, särskilt via Facebook och Twitter. Intervjuerna visade att digitaliseringsgraden är ganska omfattande. De tre medieföretagen har sina egna digitala strategier, som innebär en integration med sina traditionella plattformar, kundengagemang och intäkter. Användningen av webbplatser och sociala medier av de traditionella medierna i Indonesien har orsakats av vissa faktorer; bland annat av en stor mediedemokratisering, ett stort antal personer i den indonesiska medelklassen, en god ekonomisk tillväxt samt av en hög mobilpenetration. iv Acknowledgement The completion of this master thesis was made possible by the support from the Media Management Program of Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan in Stockholm (Sweden) for the facilitation of my research; PT Maverick Solusi Komunikasi in Jakarta (Indonesia) for the guidance and the environment provided; my supervisor – Dr Christopher Rosenqvist from Stockholm School of Economics for the patience in supervising my work; and my examiner – Dr Alex Jonsson for the engaging defence session and the helpful feedback provided. I would also like to extend my gratitude towards all friends and members of my family for the constant support and plenty of ‘push’ provided throughout the whole process. Charlie Tjokrodinata Jakarta, February 2014 v Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 10 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Statement of Purpose and Research Questions ........................................................................... 11 1.3 Scope and Limitations................................................................................................................... 11 1.4 General Method of Investigation ................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 2 - Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 13 2.1 Research Philosophy ..................................................................................................................... 13 2.2 Type of Study ................................................................................................................................ 13 2.3 Research Approach ....................................................................................................................... 14 2.4 Trustworthiness ............................................................................................................................ 18 Chapter 3 - Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................ 19 3.1 Communication Medium .............................................................................................................. 19 3.1.1 Definitions ............................................................................................................................. 19 3.1.2 Media and Communication .................................................................................................. 20 3.2 Mass Media .................................................................................................................................. 22 3.2.1 Mass Media Development .................................................................................................... 22 3.2.2 Drivers of Change .................................................................................................................. 25 3.3 Social Media ................................................................................................................................. 27 3.3.1 Forms of communication in Social Media ............................................................................. 27 3.3.2 Social Media Strategy in Digital Age ..................................................................................... 28 Chapter 4 – Empirical Finding and Analysis ................................................................................................ 30 4.1 Media Industry in Indonesia ......................................................................................................... 30 vi 4.2 Media Consumption and Increasing Digital Consumption in Indonesia ...................................... 31 4.3 Utilization of Websites by Traditional Media ............................................................................... 33 4.4 Utilization of Facebook by Traditional Media .............................................................................. 37 4.5 Utilization of Twitter by Traditional Media .................................................................................. 43 4.6 Utilization of YouTube by the Traditional Media ......................................................................... 45 4.7 Social Media Strategies ................................................................................................................ 48 4.8 Why Social Media? ......................................................................................................................