Kompas

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For the musical genre, see kompa.

Kompas is the most widely read newspaper in Indonesia. Published by Kompas-Gramedia Group Publishing since June 28, 1965, it has a reputation in Indonesia for high-quality writing and investigative journalism. It is written in Indonesian.

[edit] History

The paper was first suggested by General Ahmad Yani, then the Army Minister and the Commander of the Army, when he suggested to Frans Seda publishing a newspaper that was balanced, credible and independent. Seda sounded out the idea to his friends, P.K. Ojong and Jakob Oetama. Ojong subsequently agreed to undertake the project and Oetama became its first editor-in-chief.

The publication was initially named Bentara Rakyat (People's Herald). At President Sukarno's suggestion, it was renamed to Kompas ("compass"), for the direction-finding instrument.

Kompas began publication on June 28, 1965 from an office in central Jakarta, with an initial circulation of 4,800 copies. Since 1969, it has been the largest national newspaper in Indonesia. In 2004, its daily circulation reached some 530,000 copies, and its Sunday edition, 610,000 copies. Readership totaled some 2.25 million.^{[citation needed]}

Like many major daily newspapers, Kompas is divided into three major parts: a front section containing national and international news, a business and finance section, and a sports section.