'Bataviase Nouvelles' hits the newsstands after 262-year absence The Jakarta Post November 17, 2006 'Bataviase Nouvelles' hits the newsstands after 262-year absence Anissa S. Febrina , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The brown masthead of a tabloid-sized paper published recently in Jakarta sets it apart from other media on newsstands. It is neither in Bahasa Indonesia nor in English. " Bataviase Nouvelles (Batavia News), published for the first time since 1744," it reads in old-fashioned lettering. The original Bataviase Nouvelles was Jakarta's -- then Batavia -- first newspaper published on Aug. 8, 1744, by secretary-general Jan Erdman Jordens. On June 7, 1746, it was told to shut down because of its too-liberal, anticolonialism content. And now, more than two-and-a-half decades later, a number of history and cultural buffs in the city are reviving it, not in Dutch but in Bahasa Indonesia. "The original paper contained community and entertainment listings and auction schedules. We want this one to have similar content, but we'll spice it up," Nouvelles executive director Indra Mulya said Thursday. Launched in September, the monthly paper focuses on cultural and heritage issues, providing a wide array of information on cultural events, as well as "where to go" in the city. Its October edition, for example, features the Schouwburg festival, a list of Jakarta's governor generals and governors, a brief insight into Jakarta's Old Town revitalization plan and a unique full-page repro of old newspaper Bintang Barat . It also features a one-page weekly summary of foreign newspapers' front pages, from France's Le Figaro to Hungary's Magyar Hirlap . However, most of its pages are filled with details of cultural events across the city. "Part of our mission is to promote the activities of museums and galleries; to provide a forum where they can share ideas and encourage other cultural institutions to be more adventurous, " Indra said. Sold at Rp 9,000 (around US$1) a copy, Nouvelles is available at museums and galleries, or on subscription. "We are targeting the middle to upper class," Indra said. "Currently, we have a print run of 5,000 copies, but after six editions, we plan to double that." After taking a break for Ramadhan and Idul Fitri, Nouvelles' December edition will include articles on Christmas and New Year's events and a special report on Jakarta's annual floods. "We are comparing recent problems with past experiences here and abroad," he said. Although it is written in Bahasa Indonesia, Nouvelles will add, starting next month, a four-page English supplement largely comprising -- in Indra's words -- "survival tips for expatriates" .
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