Since he was a student, Satrio had already worked as a freelance writer (1981–1986), journalist for the daily Harian Pelita (1986–1988), the daily Kompas (1988–1995), the magazine D&R (1997–2000).
The AJI was founded in 1994 by Satrio Arismunandar, Ahmad Taufik and Goenawan Mohamad, the founder and editor of Tempo magazine, in response to the banning by the Suharto government of three magazines: Tempo, Editor, and Detik.