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The world's 20 most popular museums

While elbow room is undoubtedly still very scarce around Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," the museum that houses her is no longer the No. 1 most visited museum in the world.After four consecutive years on record as the museum world's top draw, the Louvre fell to No. 3 for attendance in the 2016 Museum Index released in June by the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM.The blockbuster Paris museum was edged out for the first time in the index's five-year history by the National Museum of China in Beijing. Washington's National Air and Space Museum also bested the Louvre, ranking second in attendance figures in 2016.The top three all topped 7 million attendees; the National Museum of China saw nearly 7.6 million visitors, while 7.5 million were recorded at the National Air and Space Museum and 7.4 million visited the Louvre.

The world's top 20 museums exceeded their previous collective attendance record by more than a million guests in 2016, racking up 108 million visitors, according to the report.The Louvre, however, saw a nearly 15% decline in visitation from 2015, a drop pinned to an overall drop in tourism to Paris that has been attributed in part to economic and political events.Another Paris museum, the Centre Pompidou, fared better with a 6% increase in visitation from 2015, putting it at No. 20 on the 2016 list with 3.3 million visitors. 

The city's Musée d'Orsay dropped out of the top 20 in 2016.In London, an expansion at the Tate Modern that opened in 2016 propelled that museum's nearly 24% spike in attendance, putting it at No. 10 on the list.The No. 1-ranked National Museum of China saw a 3.6% jump in attendance, an increase the report attributes to population size, free admission and the museum's location in the major tourist destination of Beijing.For the full list of the world's most popular museums in 2016, click on the above gallery.

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Pilkada 2018: Keputusan 'injury time' PDIP, cegah blunder atau pragmatis? Abraham Utama

Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan (PDIP) baru akan mengumumkan calon kepala daerah yang mereka usung untuk pilkada Jawa Tengah dan Jawa Barat sehari sebelum masa pendaftaran, Minggu (07/01) mendatang.

Partai berlambang kepala banteng itu setidaknya kalah cepat dibandingkan Gerindra yang akhir Desember lalu telah mengumumkan dukungan mereka untuk eks Menteri ESDM Sudirman Said di pilkada Jateng dan mantan tentara berbintang dua, Sudrajat, untuk pilkada Jabar.

Sekretaris Jenderal PDIP, Hasto Kristiyanto, membantah partainya mengulur keputusan soal calon yang akan mereka dukung di dua provinsi itu. Hingga saat ini PDIP juga belum punya calon untuk pilkada Kalimantan Barat dan Kalimantan Timur.

"Tidak ada pengumuman yang dibatalkan. Isu itu muncul karena seluruh perhatian publik hanya terpusat ke Jawa barat dan Jawa Tengah," kata Hasto di Jakarta, Kamis kemarin (04/01).

Kemarin, sebelum PDIP mengumumkan empat pasangan calon yang mereka usung pada pilkada Maluku Utara, Papua, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Sumatera Utara dan Lampung, beredar kabar Megawati Soekarnoputri telah memutuskan dan akan mendeklarasikan calon untuk Jawa Tengah.

Namun kabar itu urung terjadi. BBC Indonesia sempat mengkonfirmasi itu kepada orang nomor satu PDIP di Jateng, Bambang Wuryanto. "(Calonnya) belum dipastikan," tuturnya.

Bagaimanapun, Hasto menyebut partainya tidak pragmatis dalam memilih figur calon kepala daerah. Ia menolak PDIP disebut memainkan strategi khusus dengan deklarasi calon jelang masa pendaftaran.

"Kami tidak pernah memutuskan injury time, kami yang pertama mengusulkan pasangan calon. PDIP sudah tandatangan rekomendasi, partai lain baru akan," ucap Hasto.

Ketua Bidang Pemenangan Pemilu PDIP, Bambang Dwi Hartono, menyebut partainya mempertimbangkan banyak hal terkait calon kepala daerah. Keputusan yang mepet masa pendaftaran, kata dia, bukan berarti tanpa pertimbangan matang.

"Semua keputusan digodok lewat rapat pleno, kami menimbang-nimbang plus-minus calon yang kami usung. Artinya mesin partai berjalan," kata Bambang.

Pengajar ilmu politik di Universitas Airlangga, Muhammad Asfar, menilai PDIP menghadapi situasi sulit di Jateng, Jabar, Sumut, Kaltim, dan Kalbar. Ia mengatakan, meski memiliki jumlah kursi yang relatif besar di DPRD, PDIP tak ingin membuat kesalahan besar.

"Mereka berhati-hati agar tidak menghasilkan situasi politik yang complicated. Ini pertimbangan yang melibatkan banyak pihak dan variabel untuk mendeteksi implikasi yang mungkin muncul," ujar Asfar.

Di Jateng misalnya, kata Asfar, PDIP tak kunjung mengusung petahana Ganjar Pranowo yang disebut Bambang mempunyai elektabilitas tinggi.

Menurut Asfar, PDIP khawatir Ganjar justru ditetapkan menjadi tersangka kasus korupsi proyek KTP elektronik usai diusung untuk kembali memimpin Jateng.

Pada 3 Januari lalu, KPK memanggil Ganjar untuk pemeriksaan sebagai saksi pada kasus itu. Namun ia tak hadir. Pada dakwaan jaksa KPK untuk eks pejabat Kementerian Dalam Negeri, Irman, Ganjar diduga menerima suap sebesar US$520.000 atau sekitar Rp6,9 miliar.

Sementara di Jabar dan Sumut, Asfar menyebut PDIP tak memiliki kader mumpuni. Kemarin PDIP menjajaki hubungan dengan Wali Kota Bandung, Ridwan Kamil, yang baru kehilangan dukungan Golkar.

Persoalannya, kata Asfar, PDIP sempat secara implisit menolak mendukung Ridwan. Padahal, elektabilitas Ridwan di provinsi itu tinggi, selain Wakil Gubernur Jabar Deddy Mizwar dan Bupati Purwakarta Dedi Mulyadi.

"Kalau mengajukan calon sendiri, PDIP bukan play to win, tapi hanya menjaga eksistensi partai atau maju untuk kalah," tutur Asfar.

Untuk Sumut, PDIP telah menunjuk Djarot Saiful Hidayat untuk menjadi calon gubernur. Hasto mengatakan, bekas wakil gubernur DKI Jakarta itu akan dipasangkan dengan figur yang disebutnya populer di kalangan pemuda dan tokoh sepakbola.

Adapun, figur yang dekat dengan sepakbola dan berencana maju ke pilkada Sumur adalah Edy Rahmayadi, Ketua Umum PSSI. Namun Hasto tak membenarkan atau menyalahkan saat pewarta mengkonfirmasi nama itu.

Pada pilkada serentak 2017, PDIP kalah di 44 daerah. Persentase kekalahan mereka mencapai 43,6% karena mereka menang di 57 daerah lainnya.

Soal pemilihan calon untuk pilkada 2018 yang mepet masa pendaftaran, Megawati berujar, "Ini bukan hanya mencari orang, tapi calon pemimpin."

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Apakah hasil Pilkada 2018 akan mencerminkan perolehan Pilpres 2019?

Hasil tiga pemilihan gubernur (pilgub) di Pulau Jawa pada 2018 dinilai bukan sebagai barometer perolehan suara pemilihan presiden tahun depan, meski menurut Komisi Pemilihan Umum, pada pemilu 2014 persentase pemilih di Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, dan Jawa Timur mencapai 48% suara nasional.

Jadi kemenangan telak di tiga wilayah itu dalam pilkada pada Juni mendatang -kata Kepala Pusat Penelitian Politik LIPI, Firman Noor- bukanlah jaminan bagi partai atau koalisi di sana untuk mengantarkan kemenangan bagi calon presiden dukungannya.

"Naif jika menganggap Jawa penting dan tidak mengurus daerah yang lain. Artinya tetap dibutuhkan kontribusi suara dari daerah luar Jawa," kata Firman di Jakarta, Kamis (11/01).

"Pada akhirnya hasil akhir pilpres juga akan dipengaruhi berbagai faktor, antara lain ketokohan, dukungan finansial, jaringan politik, dan media massa," tambahnya.

Namun Ketua Dewan Pimpinan Pusat (DPP) PAN, Yandri Susanto, menyebut kemenangan pada tiga pilgub di Jawa akan membuat pekerjaan partai politik dan calon presiden lebih ringan untuk menghadapi Pilpres 2019.

Kekalahan PDI-P dalam pilgub Banten dan DKI Jakarta tahun 2017, menurut pengamatan Yandri, membuat Presiden Joko Widodo terdesak.

Untuk pilpres tahun depan, Jokowi setidaknya sudah mendapat dukungan PDIP, Golkar, dan NasDem sehingga -tambah Yandri lagi- Jokowi berharap para kandidat gubernur dari PDI-P bisa memenangkan tiga pilgub di Jawa tahun 2018.

Di sisi lain, ia menyebut Ketua Umum Gerindra Prabowo Subianto berada di atas angin karena calon yang diusung partai pimpinannya berhasil memenangkan pilgub Banten dan DKI.

"Seandainya di Jawa Barat koalisi PAN-PKS-Gerindra yang nanti menang dan begitu pula di Jawa Tengah, saya kira Jokowi akan gemetar. Jadi dia pasti akan habis-habisan memenangkan calonnya tahun ini," kata Yandri.

Di Jawa Barat, koalisi Gerindra, PKS, dan PAN mengusung pasangan Sudrajat-Ahmad Syaikhu sementara itu, PDI-P mencalonkan Tubagus Hassanudin-Anton Charliyan.

Bagaimanapun Ketua DPP PDI-P, Andreas Hugo Pareira, tidak sependapat dan menegaskan partai politik tidak dapat mematok hasil pilpres semata-mata dari hasil pilgub.

"PDIP menganggap seluruh daerah itu penting," ujarnya.

Keuntungan partai

Andreas menilai pilgub dan pilpres memiliki karakter yang berbeda semenara koalisi antarpartai politik dalam dua perhetalan itu pun, tambahnya, cenderung tidak tetap.

Misalnya saja PDI-P dan Gerindra yang berseberangan dalam pilpres 2014 namun malah sepakat mengusung kandidat yang sama untuk pilgub Jawa Timur dan Sulawesi Selatan untuk Pilkada 2018.

Lantas, apa keuntungan suatu partai jika memenangkan pilgub?

Menurut Firman, partai politik setidaknya dapat meraih dua modal penting apabila calon yang mereka usung memenangkan pemilihan kepala daerah, yaitu kedekatan dengan pengusaha dan juga menguasai jaringan birokrasi.

"Dukungan modal dari pengusaha dan birokrat yang berbudaya ewuh pakewuh(sungkan) terhadap pimpinan bisa dimanfaatkan partai politik secara langsung atau tidak langsung, baik legal atau ilegal," kata Firman.

Tidak sedikit kepala daerah, kata Firman, yang memerintahkan jajaran birokrat di tingkat akar rumput untuk mensosialisasikan program partai atau mempengaruhi suara pemilih walau hal itu sebenarnya bertentangan dengan undang-undang.

Lagipula -berdasarkan pengalaman sebelumnya- satu ajang politik di Indonesia tidak selalu menjadi barometer bagi hasil perhelatan politik berikutnya.

Firman menjelaskanpemilihan anggota DPR tahun 1955, misalnya, ketika Masyumi dan Partai Nasional Indonesia (PNI) sama-sama meraih 57 kursi. Namun dalam pemilihan anggota konstituante yang digelar tiga bulan berikutnya, kursi Masyumi (112) kalah dari perolehan kursi PNI (119).

Sementara dalam Pilpres 2009, pasangan Megawati Soekarnoputri-Prabowo Subianto kalah dari pasangan Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono-Boediono di provinsi Jawa Tengah, yang merupakan lumbung suara PDI-P yang dipimpin Megawati.

"Di Indonesia semua daerah merupakan battle ground. PDI-P pernah dihabisi Demokrat di basis suara mereka. Tidak ada jaminan suara partai kokoh di satu wilayah," kata Firman.

Masa pendaftaran calon peserta pilgub 2018 telah ditutup Rabu (10/01) dan setelah seleksi berkas dan kesehatan, maka KPUD akan menetapkan resmi para peserta pada 12 Februari mendatang.

Pencoblosan secara serentak -baik di tingkap provinsi, kabupaten, dan kota- akan digelar pada 27 Juni 2018.

Sementara itu, pengajuan bakal calon presiden akan dimulai pada Agustus 2018 atau setelah penetapan pemenang pilkada dengan pemungutan suara dijadwalkan pada 17 April 2019, bersamaan dengan pencoblosan Pemilihan Umum Legislatif.

Merujuk Data Penduduk Potensial Pemilih Pemilu yang dihimpun Kementerian Dalam Negeri, pemilik suara pada pemilu 2019 berjumlah sekitar 195 juta orang, atau meningkat dari 188 juta pemilih pada 2014.

[npnewspeople-blog]

Aceh kembali eksekusi hukum cambuk, termasuk terpidana bukan Muslim

Polisi Pamong Praja Banda Aceh dan Wilayatul Hisbah -atau polisi Syariat Islam- kembali melaksanakan eksekusi hukum cambuk terhadap 10 terpidana yang melanggar Syariat Islam.

Eksekusi berlangsung usai pelaksanaan salat Jumat (19/01), di Masjid Baitussalihin, Banda Aceh, dengan disaksikan oleh masyarakat umum.

Sejumlah orang tampak memfoto para terpidana dari dekat maupun suasana pelaksanaan eksekusi yang digelar di atas sebuah panggung khusus. Sesekali terdengar teriakan 'sakit' dari para penonton yang riuh, seperti dilaporkan wartawan di Banda Aceh, Hidayatullah, untuk BBC Indonesia.

Pelaksanaan hukuman cambuk sudah beberapa kali berlangsung di Provinsi Naggroe Aceh Darussalam, yang menerapkan Syariat Islam sejak 2014 lalu.

Sebelumnya, hukuman cambuk juga pernah dijatuhkan antara lain pada satu pasangan gay, perempuan yang berzinah, maupun pelaku pelecehan anak.

Dalam eksekusi terbaru, dari 10 orang yang dinyatakan melanggar hukum Jinayat -atau hukum kriminalitas Islam- salah seorang diantaranya adalah umat non-Muslim, yaitu seorang pria berusia 40 tahun, JS.

Pria yang mendapat hukuman cambuk sebanyak 36 kali terkait kasus khamar atau mabuk ini merupakan umat non-Muslim ketiga yang mendapat hukum cambuk di Aceh.

Wali Kota Banda Aceh, Aminullah Usman, menegaskan pelaksanaan hukum cambuk untuk 10 orang tersebut sudah sesuai hukum Islam yang berlaku dengan melalui berbagai proses pemeriksaan hingga divonis hukuman cambuk.

"Semua sudah diperiksa, untuk satu orang non-Muslim, dia sudah bersedia mengikuti cambuk dan sudah membuat pernyataan bahwa mau mengikuti prosedur cambuk sesuai Syariat Islam," jelasnya.

Terpidana non-Muslim pertama di Aceh diganjar hukuman cambuk pada April 2016 karena menjual alkohol disusul pada bulan Maret 2017 terkait judi sabung ayam.

Kepala Satuan Polisi Pamong Praja dan WH Banda Aceh, Yusnardi, mengatakan penerapan hukuman cambuk untuk non-Muslim bersifat suka rela karena terdakwa boleh memilih untuk diadili lewat hukum Jinayat atau dengan KUHP.

"JS sudah ditanya dan diberikan pilihan untuk mengikuti hukum Jinayat atau KUHP, namun terpidana memilih untuk mengikuti hukum cambuk," tutur Yusnardi.

Enam terpidana lain yang dicambuk sebanyak dua sampai enam kali karena terkait kasus jarimah maisir (atau perjudian), yaitu NA (43), SE (30), NAS (37), IH (37), AG (44), dan MI (37).

Sedangkan cambukan sebanyak 20 sampai 37 kali untuk kasus iktilat (hubungan pasangan yang bukan muhrim) dijatuhkan pada AI (24), EMS (22), dan NSW (19).

Setelah mendapat hukuman cambuk, maka semua terpidana langsung bebas kembali.

[npnewspeople-blog]

Presiden Jokowi temui korban gempa Aceh

Presiden Joko Widodo telah menemui sejumlah korban gempa di Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah (RSUD) Tgk Chik Di Tiro di Sigli, Aceh, Jumat (09/12). 

Tiba sekitar pukul 08.15 WIB dengan menggunakan helikopter, Presiden menemui langsung dan berdialog singkat dengan beberapa pasien korban gempa.Sebelumnya, Jokowi telah meninjau RSUD Zainoel Abadin di Kota Banda Aceh, menemui korban gempa lainnya, Kamis (08/12) malam.

"Penanganan terhadap korban bencana gempa Pidie Jaya sudah sangat baik dan evakuasi korban sudah mencapai 99 persen," kata Presiden saat di Banda Aceh, seperti dikutip Kepala Biro, pers, media dan informasi sekretariat negara.

Presiden didampingi antara lain Menteri Kesehatan Nila Moeloek, Kapolri Tito Karnavian, dan Sekretaris Kabinet Pramono Anung, Pelaksana tugas Gubernur Aceh Soedarmo, serta Menteri Pekerjaan Umum dan Perumahan Rakyat Basuki Hadimuljono.

Sekitar pukul 09.50 WIB, Presiden dan rombongan tiba di lokasi penampungan pengungsi akibat gempa di dekat masjid Atta Karuf di Kecamatan Trienggadeng, Kabupaten Pidie Jaya.

Di lokasi itu, Presiden menemui kerumunan anak-anak yang menyambutnya dengan sebuah lagu. Presiden kemudian terlibat percakapan dengan mereka.

"Saya senang sekali anak-anak masih gembira, masih ceria. Dan, tadi nyanyinya juga semangat. Saya titip, anaj-anak tetap, tetap semangat belajar. Siap?" Suara "yaa" terdengar dari kerumunan anak-anak itu.

Lalu Presiden bertanya: "Apakah anak-anak sudah hafal Pancasila? Siapa yang hafal tunjuk jari. Saya beri hadiah..." Kemudian seorang bocah maju ke depan dan membacakan lima sila Pancasila.

Salat Jumat di Aceh

Presiden juga berencana sholat Jumat di masjid Atta Karuf, tidak jauh dari lokasi pertemuannya dengan anak-anak itu.

Rencananya Presiden juga akan meninjau posko penanganan gempa di Bandar Baru, serta beberapa titik posko pengungsian di wilayah terdampak gempa di Kabupaten Pidie Jaya.

Belum ada keterangan resmi tentang agenda berikut Presiden selama di Aceh, tetapi sejumlah laporan menyebutkan Presiden akan mengunjungi pula Pondok pesantren Mudi Mesra di Bireun, Aceh.

Sementara itu, dari lokasi yang terdampak paling parah akibat gempa, upaya evakuasi masih terus dilakukan untuk mencari korban yang terjebak di bawah reruntuhan bangunan.

BNPB menyebutkan bantuan telah didistribusikan ke wilayah yang terdampak gempa, antara lain alat berat untuk kebutuhan evakuasi, makanan dan obat-obatan.

Masa tanggap darurat akan diberlakukan di tiga kabupaten yaitu Pidie Jaya, Pidie dan Bireun selama 14 hari sampai dengan 20 Desember.

Ratusan petugas gabungan dari TNI, Polisi dan Basarnas terus melakukan upaya pencarian korban.

[npnewspeople-blog]

Menjamurnya situs berita: Bagaimana agar media digital dapat bertahan?

Bukan berita baru kalau media cetak tutup karena tiras dan pendapatan iklannya semakin menurun digerus oleh media digital yang semakin berkembang. Namun bagaimana agar media di internet ini dapat bertahan di tengah-tengah menjamurnya situs berita saat ini?

Beberapa media cetak yang sudah tutup di Indonesia antara lain koran Sinar Harapan, The Jakarta Globe, Majalah Bola. Yang terbaru adalah majalah musik Rolling Stone Indonesia yang memutuskan tutup setelah sempat terbit selama 12 tahun. Penyebabnya? Sama, yaitu pendapatan menurun.

"Karena mahalnya biaya lisensi ini, otomatis tidak nutup pendapatan yang masuk," kata Editor Rolling Stone Indonesia Wendi Putranto.

Di saat banyak media cetak yang tutup, media digital baru tumbuh menjamur. Di lingkup nasional ada kumparan.com, tirto.id, beritagar.id. Yang berjaring internasional antara lain vice.com, rappler.com, dan coconuts.co.

Betapapun, pengamat media Andreas Harsono menyangsikan keberlangsungan media-media baru ini.

"Bukan hanya tirto, kumparan atau vice. Tapi juga yang sangat partisan kayak Arrahmah, seword atau geotimes. Persoalannya adalah, mereka punya stamina tidak? Sekarang mungkin mereka bisa bertahan karena masih baru dan orang senang melihat hal-hal baru. Pertanyaannya apakah mereka bisa mendapat pendapatan yang makin lama makin berkembang? Apakah media-media baru ini punya model bisnis yang sustainable?"

Terlepas dari model bisnis yang harus tepat, jelas potensi pembaca berita kini ada di media internet.

"Lebih simpel, juga lebih update"; "Lebih gampang diakses, lagipula koran banyak sampahnya"; "Kalau beli koran kan harus keluar duit" adalah sebagian alasan warga lebih memilih internet sebagai sumber berita mereka.

Peta media digital Indonesia

Ross Tapsell, seorang pengajar di The Australian National University, baru-baru ini menulis buku mengenai pemetaan media di Indonesia berjudul Media Power in Indonesia (Kekuatan Media di Indonesia).

Doktor studi media itu menyimpulkan, berdasarkan penelitiannya, bahwa untuk bertahan di era digital, maka media harus memiliki beberapa platform, seperti media televisi, radio, dan internet; berinvestasi di infrastruktur komunikasi; dan mengembangkan audiensinya ke seluruh negeri.

Media yang memiliki multi platform akan lebih mudah memasarkan spot iklan mereka sehingga lebih menguntungkan. Tak heran jika beberapa jaringan media berkembang menjadi konglomerasi digital yang besar.

Ada delapan konglomerasi di Indonesia yang memiliki multi platform dan menurut teori Ross Tapsell, jika ingin bertahan situs-situs berita harus tergabung dalam konglomerasi digital yang besar.

Tempo yang tadinya berdiri sendiri pun akhirnya menawarkan sahamnya ke enam investor di antaranya grup SCTV dan konglomerat Edwin Soeryadjaya.

Sinergi berita dengan komersial

Ke delapan konglomerasi media digital itu sudah 'bermain' di industri media cukup lama. Namun Andreas Harsono memperhatikan bahwa ada satu perusahaan konglomerat yang mulai masuk ke bisnis media, yakni Grup Djarum.

"Lewat Kaskus, beritagar, IDNTimes, mereka paling banyak beli (media digital) sekarang ini Djarum", kata Andreas Harsono.

Selain itu, peluang berkembangnya pembaca berita lewat media digital membuat para pengusaha melihatnya sebagai peluang untuk bisnis nonberita pula. Media berita itu, kelak, bisa disinergikan dengan situs belanja.

"Diarahkan ke situ sih oleh konglomerat-konglomerat ini. Yang jelas dikatakan Ishadi S.K dari detik.com atau Trans mereka akan menjadikan detik.com juga sebagai platform jualannya Transmart itu. Nah saya khawatir kalau e-commerce itu digabung sama jurnalisme, gak tahu gimana tuh deh", kata Andreas.

Integritas jurnalisme di era digital

Pada sisi lain, kaitan yang makin erat antara media berita digital dan korporasi bisnis besar dikhawatirkan akan mempengaruhi kemandirian pemberitaan.

Bagi Ketua Asosiasi Jurnalisme Indonesia, AJI, Abdul Manan, tak banyak yang bisa dilakukan untuk mencegahnya selain peningkatkan integritas wartawannya.

"Menguatkan kepatuhan wartawan terhadap kode etik itu saya kira hal yang krusial dilakukan AJI di era seperti sekarang. Kita juga mendorong perusahaan-perusahaan media untuk menghormati prinsip bahwa bisnis media itu kan berbeda dengan bisnis yang lain. Yang tidak hanya bisnis tapi ada juga tanggung jawab sosial. Karena itu juga ditegaskan dalam UU No. 40 Tahun 1999 tentang pers, yang artinya harus dihormati oleh perusahaan media", kata Abdul Manan.

Jelas, menjamin profesionalisme lebih gampang diucapkan daripada dijalani, apalagi menyangkut periuk nasi para wartawan. Dan di Indonesia, ancaman kemandirian sebenarnya bukan hanya dari dalam perusahaan, juga dari pihak-pihak luar sehingga membuat ada istilah wartawan amplop, merujuk wartawan yang mendapat uang untuk menulis berita sesuai dengan kepentingan si pemberi uang tadi.

[npnewspeople-blog]

How Jade Bird went from 'brutal' open mic gigs to the Brit School and US success

Here's a list of things that make Jade Bird laugh during our conversation: Coats, chickens, theatre school, her own songs, other people's songs, yoghurt, bathrooms, being cheated on, her grandmother's guitar and writer's block.

The 20-year-old is vivacious and chatty and frequently hilarious - characteristics that have earned her legions of fans when she plays live (which is all the time).

"I've often been told that if music doesn't work out I could be a comedian," she guffaws.

"I'm like, 'Thank you so much... Or maybe not?!'"

Stand-up's loss is music's gain. The singer's British spin on Americana is compelling and gutsy, combining her love of Loretta Lynn with the punky energy of Patti Smith.

It's already caused a fuss in the US, where Rolling Stone named her a "country artist you need to know" on the strength of her debut EP, Something American.

But Bird is cautious about being categorised as a country singer, calling the label "a little restrictive".

"It's unusual that, right now, if you write something where the lyrics are actually meaningful, people go, 'Oh, it must be country!'" she says.

"I'm fine with that but, at the same time, I think my songs are reminiscent of pop back in the day. You know, 2006, with the first Coldplay album and Keane and bands like that?"

You can hear those influences on her new single Lottery, which she recorded in Woodstock last year.

"I actually had writer's block. Like, total writer's block," she recalls.

"I tried alcohol, I tried everything. It didn't work.

"I even sat and read all the Lumineers lyrics - because my producer did the last Lumineers record. And I was like, 'Oh God, I can't write anything like this. These are bloody good!'"

Then, out of nowhere, a chorus appeared fully-formed in her head: "You used to say that love is a lottery / And you got your numbers / And you're betting on me".

"I instantly knew it was a killer," she says.

"I think the reason people like me write is because of that tortuous competition with yourself to get those moments."

Bird has been competing with herself since she first picked up her grandmother's guitar at the age of 12.

To date, she's filled three notebooks with lyrics and chords and "mind maps" of ideas.

"I suppose there's 200 pages in each book, so that's 600 songs," she says.

"I mean, they're not all good... Three-quarters aren't listenable. But I used to do that thing where I forced myself to write one a day."

Bird was born into a military family, moving between America, Germany and the UK until her parents divorced. Then she settled with her mum and grandma in Bridgend, South Wales, taking lessons from their fortitude.

"My grandma divorced my granddad and became a finance manager to get her own house, and my mum worked very hard to make sure we could have our own space," she says.

"That's where I got my strength. I've always been inspired by the women in my family."

In her teens, she entered a series of "brutal" open mic nights in pubs around Wales, before winning a sixth form place at the Brit School, the famous performing arts hothouse.

She was pleased to discover how supportive her fellow students could be.

"Are there show offs? Not in music, surprisingly," she says. "Whereas music theatre, you'd walk past their corridor and go, 'Oh Gawd!'"

While studying, she continued to pay her dues in venues around London - sometimes to the detriment of her schoolwork.

"If I was off ill they'd always go, 'Oh, have you got a gig?' and I'd be like [sheepishly], 'Yeah, OK.'"

But, as her final exams approached, the teenager began to worry about her future.

"I'd been gigging straight three times a week since I started school, and I was like, 'Mum, nothing's happening, what am I going to do?'"

"So that May, I went into my friend's bathroom and recorded 13 songs.

"The acoustics," she giggles, "were great!"

That demo got her a management deal and, almost immediately, she was shipped out to Woodstock to record an EP with Bat For Lashes' producer (and "fellow hippie") Simone Felice.

"We made the effort to record my music before looking for a label so they couldn't manipulate the project," says Bird.

Glassnote soon snapped the singer up - putting her on a roster that includes Mumford & Sons, Phoenix, Childish Gambino and Chvrches - and her debut EP caused waves on both sides of the Atlantic.

Her calling card is Cathedral, another song that arrived in a flash of inspiration "while I was doing something completely irrelevant on the computer".

"The word 'Cathedral' came in my head," she says, "and suddenly I had this image of jilting someone at the altar, of leaving someone in this big white dress."

Emotionally heavy but instantly memorable, the track won her a coveted spot on Stephen Colbert's US chat show and a place on the BBC's Sound of 2018, where critics praised her storytelling lyrics and raw, soulful vocals.

Lottery, which was released last week, is the first single from her debut album and marks "a new phase" in Bird's songwriting.

"It's brighter, more optimistic, a bit more colourful," she says.

The song has already picked up support from Apple Music and Spotify, who featured it prominently on their pop-heavy New Music Friday playlists.

"Right now, I feel like I'm the only thing on New Music Friday with real drums, and that's an interesting concept," she says.

But there's no harm in standing out from the crowd. And with artists like The Shires and Ward Thomas proving the UK's appetite for home-grown Americana, Jade Bird looks set for a bright 2018.

"There's quite a stigma attached to country music in the UK - but I kind of enjoy that," she says.

"I think you have to surround yourself with things that aren't necessarily of the time in order to create something new.

"Be it film, be it books, be it other music... You have to sketch out your own place in life."

And then she bursts into laughter again.

[npnewspeople-blog]

Apple's Tim Cook keeps nephew off social media

Apple chief executive Tim Cook has said he does not want his nephew to be on a social network.

His comments come as a survey suggests the wider British public is becoming increasingly distrustful of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The platforms have all acknowledged problems in recent days.

One expert suggested technology companies should face tougher regulations despite their efforts to resist the prospect.

Age limits

At a coding-related event at Harlow college, in Essex, Mr Cook told a Guardian reporter: "I don't have a kid, but I have a nephew that I put some boundaries on.

"There are some things that I won't allow. I don't want them on a social network."

Mr Cook did not disclose the age of his nephew, but in an interview in March 2015 he mentioned he was 10 years old at the time.

The US's Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (Coppa) places restrictions on the information technology companies can collect about under-13s, and many social media companies officially bar younger users from their services as a consequence.

New rules

Social media companies - and Apple itself - also face growing criticism that their products are addictive in nature.

The recently created Time Well Spent campaign group says: "What's best for capturing our attention isn't best for our wellbeing," adding the platforms would not change unless made to do so.

Several technology leaders - including Facebook's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, and Google's chief executive, Sundar Pichai, - are expected to resist calls for further regulation at behind-the-scenes meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week.

But one industry watcher thought it likely that legislators and their watchdogs would soon intervene in the way technology companies operated.

"They are having huge effect on the ways we get information and how we live our lives," said Dr Joss Wright, from the Oxford Internet Institute.

"And the idea that because they are 'technology' means they should be exempt from regulation or should be allowed to fix all the problems themselves doesn't stand up.

"We need to have a say as society in what their problems are and what effects they are having, and that's the role of regulation."

[npnewspeople-blog]

Oscars 2018: The Shape of Water leads field

The nominations for the 90th Academy Awards have been announced, with The Shape of Water leading the field.

Guillermo del Toro's fantasy romance received 13 nominations, including best picture.

World War Two drama Dunkirk follows with eight nominations, while Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri receives seven.

British stars shortlisted include Gary Oldman, Sally Hawkins and a pair of Daniels - Day-Lewis and Kaluuya.

Guillermo del Toro's fantasy romance received 13 nominations, including best picture.

World War Two drama Dunkirk follows with eight nominations, while Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri receives seven.

British stars shortlisted include Gary Oldman, Sally Hawkins and a pair of Daniels - Day-Lewis and Kaluuya.

Others include Steven Spielberg's The Post, gay romance Call Me By Your Name and Winston Churchill drama Darkest Hour.

Oldman's performance as Churchill has already won the British actor a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award.

To win the Oscar, though, he will have to beat three-time best actor winner Day-Lewis, nominated again for Phantom Thread.

Gary Oldman among best actor nominees

Another best actress nomination for Streep

Meryl Streep's best actress nomination for newspaper drama The Post is her 17th for best actress and her 21st overall.

Frances McDormand is tipped to be this year's winner for her role as a grieving mother in Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Two of McDormand's co-stars, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell, go head to head in the best supporting actor category.

The same applies to The Shape of Water's nominations, which gets two supporting acting nominations alongside Hawkins' best actress nod.

Del Toro's film narrowly missed out on tying with the previous nomination record of 14, obtained by the films All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land.

Notable firsts include Rachel Morrison's best cinematography nomination for Mudbound, Netflix's drama about racial tension in Mississippi.

Morrison, whose other credits include the forthcoming Black Panther, is the first woman ever to receive a nomination in this category.

Mudbound's Mary J Blige also makes history by getting nominations for best supporting actress and best song in the same year.

The nine-time Grammy winner co-wrote Mighty River for the film, which is also recognised for its adapted screenplay.

Snubs and surprises

Among those to miss out this year include James Franco, who had been tipped by some to get a best actor nod for The Disaster Artist.

London-born Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards' writer-director, is also a surprise omission from the best director line-up.

Surprise nominees include Britain's Lesley Manville, up for playing Day-Lewis's sister in fashion-based period piece Phantom Thread.

Paul Thomas Anderson's film, also up for best picture, best director and two other awards, did much better than many had expected.

The nominations were announced in Los Angeles by British actor Andy Serkis and Girls Trip actress Tiffany Haddish.

Jimmy Kimmel will return to host this year's ceremony, to be held on 4 March at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

[npnewspeople-blog]

Government shutdown: The winners and losers

The government shutdown is officially over. Everyone involved is declaring victory. And everybody's right. And wrong.

How right and how wrong they are will be revealed over time. For now, as the dust settles on the long-weekend shutdown of 2018, here's the case for - and against - each side's claims.

Senate Republicans

Why they won: Given that the Republican Party's previous shutdown experiences - notably 2013 and 1995-96 - ended in near-total capitulation, anything short of that has to be seen as a unmitigated victory.

Their caucus stayed reasonably united, losing only four senators in Friday's pre-shutdown vote, and mostly on-message. Their argument was simple - they would not negotiate an immigration deal with a shutdown gun held to their head. If that sounds familiar, it's because it was the same logic Democrats used, effectively, in 2013.

What the Republicans conceded, a promise to vote on an immigration reform package in the Senate, was not a particularly heavy lift. There are plenty of Republicans who want to see so-called Dreamers, who entered the US as undocumented immigrant children and are now in danger of deportation, given some sort of permanent residency status. Nothing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed to will preclude Republicans from negotiating Democratic concessions on other immigration reforms, such as the border wall and ending the visa lottery and chain migration, in exchange for their support.

Why they lost: Despite a rather clear, concise Republican message - Democrats were shutting down the government to win protections for "illegal immigrants" - the American public, according to snap polls, sided with the Democratic position. The partisan divides were clear, but the highly coveted political independents were breaking to the left.

That might have changed if the shutdown dragged on longer, but it didn't. So if Republicans hoped that the fight would give them a boost and help avoid what could be a Democratic wave in the mid-term elections later this year, they will likely be disappointed. This is the first time a shutdown has occurred when one party has controlled both the White House and Congress. If voters focus their ire on the ones in power, Republicans will bear the brunt of the blame.

In the meantime, while Mr McConnell's guarantee of an immigration vote is vague at best, it could be used against him in three weeks if there's no further action on the issue. And if a vote does take place, it is likely to exacerbate the clear rifts that have been exposed among Republicans on what to do about Dreamers.

Senate Democrats

Why they won: Uh. Give me a minute. OK, the Democrats didn't have the strongest hand heading into this weekend's shutdown showdown. They played their cards as best they could. They were able to convince a few Republicans - Jeff Flake of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina - to fight by their side. They are also more likely to win over other sympathetic senators, like Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, in future battles by backing down now.

The Democratic caucus largely stuck together through the weekend. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was able to give at-risk Democrats, up for re-election this year in conservative states, a pass on a tough shutdown vote, and Republicans weren't able to pick off further support until the leadership was ready to accept Mr McConnell's offer.

They have kept their powder dry for the next fight, in three weeks, without making any concessions and demonstrated that they are willing to take a more confrontational stance - at least for a few days - on an issue that's dear to the liberal base. The US public tends to have a short memory as far as shutdowns go, so any damage they did by risking being branded as obstructionists is almost certainly temporary.

As part of the deal, the Children's Health Insurance Programme (Chip) was reauthorised for a full six years. While this was a measure that had broad bipartisan support, Republicans had held it out to win concessions from Democrats on other issues. Chip has now been taken off the table.

Why they lost: Spin it however you like, it was the Democrats who (with a bit of Republican support) forced the shutdown, and it was the Democrats who eventually relented. The "Schumer shutdown" label stuck.

While this was a Democratic play to show the base they were serious about protecting Dreamers, early indications are the base isn't convinced.

"Today's cave by Senate Democrats - led by weak-kneed, right-of-centre Democrats - is why people don't believe the Democratic Party stands for anything," writes Stephanie Taylor of Progressive Change Campaign Committee in a press statement. Not exactly hosannas for the good fight.

Even more telling is that nearly every 2020 Democratic hopeful in the Senate - Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Ron Wyden - were against reopening the government. Their position is that Mr McConnell's guarantees of an intent to have an immigration vote - if no deal is reached in three weeks and the Democrats don't shut down the government again - are written in sand.

You don't need a weatherman to tell that this particular wind is blowing from the left

Donald Trump

Why he won: First and foremost, the president was able to make it through the first shutdown on his watch without doing anything to exacerbate the situation. Disruptions were kept to a minimum. Government services largely continued undisrupted. Even the national parks and museums, a key focus of past shutdowns, mostly stayed open.

The president himself was kept out of the public view over the weekend and his Twitter feed - which often causes as many problems as it solves - was restrained and on message. He even fired off a tongue-in-cheek line sending his regards to the hundreds of thousands of women who marched in protest of his administration over the weekend.

Now he can claim that he stood on the side of defending a functioning government and protecting the US military. His characterisations of Democrats as obstructionists will pack a bit more of a punch.

It seems more likely at this point that if an immigration deal is eventually reached it will include funding for his Mexican border wall. The issue had been a non-starter for Democrats up until now, but Mr Schumer and his team showed a willingness to exchange the wall for Dreamer protections. The prospect that the president will someday pose proudly before a gleaming "Trump wall" - even if it will never stretch from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific or be paid for by Mexico - appears much more likely. That, by any accounts, is a win for the president.

Why he lost: Mr Schumer groused over the weekend that trying to work with Mr Trump was like negotiating with Jell-o. Every time they thought they had an agreement with the president, whether it was to accept a bipartisan deal on immigration or establish terms for re-opening the government, he would later back away or come up with new conditions.

Even Republicans - from Mr McConnell on down - expressed frustration that they were not receiving sufficient guidance from the president on what an acceptable deal might look like.

The White House released a number of photographs of Mr Trump "working" over the weekend to solve the shutdown impasse. The president sitting at his desk, talking on the phone. The president meeting with smiling staffers. The president walking, stern-faced, down a corridor. By most accounts, however, the president was a non-factor in the congressional negotiations that led, ultimately, to a government reopening. Instead, according to press reports, he stewed in the White House, frustrated he couldn't head to his Mar-a-Lago resort for a gala celebration of the anniversary of his inauguration.

"A great deal-making president sat on the sidelines," Mr Schumer said as he announced Democrats would agree to Mr McConnell's deal.

According to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the role of the president during the crisis was to ensure that things "went smoothly". If that's the bar, it's debatable the president met it.