indonesia tatler. july 2019 135
powerful presence
on screen and off,
36-year-old Andini
Effendi has become
a household name in
the media industry.
Known as one of Metro TV’s most renowned
news anchor and journalist, her story began
by carrying wardrobe items and rolling cables
as the company’s production assistant intern
during her university years.
“Not long after graduating, there was
a time when I worked at other media
companies. However, I’ve always wanted to be
a news anchor at Metro TV and when I finally
joined it in 2007, I was told I couldn’t do it
yet,” she reveals. Prior to being entrusted with
hard news, Andini was once the face for sports
news and Metro TV Surabaya Bureau. It was
during her time at Metro TV that she grew to
be the dedicated journalist she is.
The statuesque scholar found a mentor
in Andy Noya, a disciplined journalist and
reporter who forbid her to say: “I don’t
know” or “I can’t”. Like her colleagues, she
was pushed to always find ways to achieve
her goal—a habit that has led her to see great
success and fame.
Along with the knowledge she gained from
her mentors, Andini remained light on her
feet, leaping at every chance to go on work
trips. “If my bosses said I had to go in two
hours, I went, even if it meant having to go
for three months with only two days’ worth
of clothing,” she says. Her thirst for more
knowledge and experience was also what led
her to apply for a master’s degree in global
affairs at New York University (NYU).
In an interesting twist, when the NYU
admission’s call got through to Andini in
2011, the last thing they expected was for the
interview to be interrupted by explosions.
Called to action, Andini excused herself to
report the incident and asked that they call
again in two hours.
“I was already rejected thrice by NYU
before I was sent to cover the Libyan conflict
for Metro TV. Luckily, my friend David
Kirkpatrick from The New York Times was
also in Libya with me and I asked if he could
help reach out to them to tell them about
our working experience together,” explainsAndini. Looking back, she chuckles at how
the interruption became the main reason she
got in, specifically the way they were both
worried and impressed by how she had leaped
to go live in the midst of explosions. But
similarly, at the time there were others who
worried for her safety back in Indonesia.
“My dad, for example, would never say no
to what I do but he would call a million times
to ask when I’m coming home. I never felt
unsafe or thought that I should run for my
life. I had a duty to fulfil and that became my
only concern,” she smiles. Her father, along
with the nation, could only sit in front of
the TV with breakfast in hand the same time
Andini was pulled from her slumber by those
explosions and rushed to go live at 2am.
Fast-forward eight years later, and Andini
now sits in her pristine dress with Indonesia
Tatler to represent the new wave of hope that
continue to improve the country. When we
congratulate her for winning Best Current
Affairs Presenter at the Asian Television
Awards 2019, she admits to still having a long
way to go. She laughs, “I’m still crawling.
Success is a journey that I’ll never claim to
have reached.”
The same need for progress can be said
about gender equality, a topic Andini wishes
would ignite more discussion. “Every day is a
struggle,” she says, “Whether it’s the difficulty
of obtaining bank loans as an unmarried
woman or loss of citizenship upon marrying
a foreign husband, a woman’s identity is still
valued differently than how society would
a man’s. This mindset is so embedded in our
society that we’re rarely free to talk about
these things in the open.”
In addition to the issues at hand, the vocal
presenter is working on a new documentary
to alleviate misconceptions about Indonesia
and its people. “In my journeys, there were
those who were shocked to hear that I
was a Muslim Indonesian. They expected
Indonesians to fall into a stereotype that
couldn’t be further from the truth,” she
says. Through her works, the strong-willed
woman hopes to create new behaviours in
people. If Andini’s way of changing the world
is by using her power of writing stories and
provoking people to do something about it,
what is yours?”ANDINI EFFENDI