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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.

History [link]

The paper was first suggested by General Ahmad Yani, then commander of the Indonesian Army, to Frans Seda, a government minister and leader of the Catholic Party. Yani encouraged Seda to publish a newspaper that was representative of the Catholic Party faction, in order to counter the communist propaganda spearheaded by the PKI. 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. Later the newspaper's mission was changed to become one that is independent and free from any political factions.

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.

Kompas features the Benny & Mice and Panji Koming comic strip every Sunday.

Closed regional section [link]

January 2011, the newspaper has closed down regional (local) sections and returned to a uniformed edition nationwide. The first regional section is East Java at 2003 and followed by Central Java, Yogyakarta, West Java and 2 other Sumatra's regional section. No clear reason for the action.^[1]

References [link]

1. ^ "Kompas Closes Down Regional Sections". The Indonesia Today. https://www.theindonesiatoday.com/news-headline/6452-kompas-closes-down-regional-sections.html. 

External links [link]

Indonesia portal

• (Indonesian) Official site