ABC signing off<\/p>\n
Nothing definite about the matter has yet to be made public
\nbut it seems almost certain that in a few months 2.8 million
\nIndonesians will be deprived of some of their best-loved radio
\nprograms. An inquiry led by Bob Mansfield, a former chief
\nexecutive of the Australian John Fairfax media empire, which
\npublishes among other things the widely respected Sydney Morning
\nHerald, recommended that the Asian radio and television services
\nof the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) should be shut
\ndown for budgetary reasons.<\/p>\n
Canberra, it seems, wants all the corporations operating under
\nits control to make budget savings, and "... there is an obvious
\nexpectation that domestic priorities should be a higher level of
\npriority," communications minister Richard Alston said in
\nCanberra last month. Radio Australia is estimated to have a
\nweekly audience of around 4.9 million in Asia and the Pacific,
\n2.8 million of them in Indonesia and 700,000 in China.<\/p>\n
Because of this wide audience the Australian foreign affairs
\ndepartment has reportedly argued in favor of keeping Radio
\nAustralia's shortwave overseas services, arguing that it would
\nserve Australia's trade interests. However, as Communications
\nMinister Alston said, the foreign affairs department could keep
\nRadio Australia if it was willing to pay for it. Thus the chances
\nof Radio Australia remaining on the air for very much longer look
\nreally rather slim.<\/p>\n
For the faithful Indonesian listeners this is of course a
\ngreat disappointment. For several decades Radio Australia has
\nbeen at the top of the list of foreign radio stations popular in
\nthis country. It even ranks higher than the BBC or Radio
\nHilversum of the Netherlands. Young Indonesians regularly tune in
\nto the ABC for music programs and the English lessons. For many
\nolder Indonesians, Radio Australia has long been a trusted source
\nof news -- especially of events which they suspect would not be
\nreported, or not in full, by the domestic media.<\/p>\n
One may wonder whether the Australian government is wise to
\nclose down Radio Australia's overseas services -- assuming, of
\ncourse, that the step will be taken -- especially at a time when
\nrelations between nations are expanding all the time. On the
\nother hand, given the budgetary constraints, shifting the money
\nfrom services whose impact can only be speculative at best to
\nreal domestic needs does make sense, especially considering the
\nreduced emphasis which the present Australian government is
\nplacing on Asia.<\/p>\n
For us in Indonesia, however, there is a lesson to be learned
\nfrom this case. Why do so many Indonesians turn to Radio
\nAustralia? One obvious reason is that Radio Australia's reception
\nis good in many areas of Indonesia. Also, many Indonesians seem
\nto like the station's programs. Another, and perhaps more
\nsignificant reason, however, is that Radio Australia, in many
\ncases, satisfies Indonesians' need for unpartisan and accurate
\ninformation.<\/p>\n
It is no secret, for example, that photocopies of news reports
\nor articles that are censored are always in high demand. It is
\nalso no secret that every time something serious happens, or is
\nrumored to have happened, people turn to foreign radio stations,
\nnewspapers and news magazines to get the "true" picture of what
\nis happening. Radio Australia's popularity reflects this
\nsituation very well.<\/p>\n
It is important that we realize that such a situation is not
\nonly embarrassing for us, it can also be detrimental to our own
\nwell-being as a nation because who can say that the information
\nwe get from abroad is always accurate? But until we learn to
\nrecognize the benefits of having a truly free and responsible
\nmedia, we are afraid that this is the situation that we will have
\nto live with for the foreseeable future.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/abc-signing-off-1447899208",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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