Standing on Billy gate

“We feed on tragedy, like blood to a vampire,”
- Maynard James Keenan

As journalist, you often forget that behind the story, behind the case there are human beings, capable of human emotions. That’s why when I was approached by PR from Billy’s law firm, I lobbied to interview Billy at his detainment facility more importantly on Christmas day.

As his lawyer explained it to me, he is a religious man and put his family more than himself. No one has got his side of the story before, at least from Billy himself so it is somewhat an exclusive.

Nobody asked me to do it. It was my own.

I consulted with my editors, two asked why that particular prisoner, especially with Jakarta Globe’s ties to Lippo group. “Why not Marcella for example,” an editor said jokingly. “Are you nuts? Do you realize what it would look like to others if we were to run that story?” another editor said.

It was the only prisoner I gained access to.

But the deputy chief said, “if it’s a story, it’s a story,” he said “why should we be afraid to appear PRing Billy? We ran his trial story three times before and was neutral about them”

I agreed, why should we be afraid of for example a constant nagger of the Jakarta Globe and of Billy Sindoro case, Astro’s media relations consultant with the initial O – N – G always speaking in a third person.

We covered Astro’s side of the story already. I was in all their press gathering, we ran with their story. And now he have something to say, which nobody ever commented anyway.

I’ve been waiting for him to say something. What took him so long?