Criticism of the press<\/p>\n
During the National Press Day 1995 celebrations in Manado,
\nNorth Sulawesi, on Thursday, President Soeharto criticized the
\ndomestic press. He said our press coverage is not quite in line
\nwith national priorities and often approaches or even oversteps
\nthe boundaries, which could invite discord. This was the first
\ntime that the President openly criticized the national press and
\nwe are obligated to accept this.<\/p>\n
With the present trend towards globalization, Indonesia is
\nbeing caught up in the exceedingly swift currents of change. An
\nimportant factor, which is thrusting our nation into this
\ncurrent of globalization, is the press. This is because one of
\nthe characteristics of a world-enveloping society is the
\nswiftness with which information is transmitted from one place to
\nanother across space and time and across legal and national
\nboundaries.<\/p>\n
A most important date is the year 2020, when our Asia-Pacific
\nregion will become a free trade zone. We should take the
\nPresident's warning as a signal to get ourselves ready to
\nanticipate that important moment.<\/p>\n
For the domestic press, that will mean free competition in
\nproviding information for our society. Even now, as we are
\napproaching the close of the century, the stream of information
\ncoming from all over the world is flooding our country. In
\nanother quarter-century's time that current will be much swifter
\nbecause society requires it as a consequence of the demands of
\nthe times.<\/p>\n
If the national press should prove unable to satisfy the
\ndemands of the times, society can turn to sources of information
\noutside this country, which might not be in agreement with the
\noutlook and objectives of the Indonesian nation.<\/p>\n
We are confident that the sense of idealism of the domestic
\npress is still strong enough to overcome the existing internal
\nconstraints and to resist the pull of pragmatism exerted by
\nmodern industry. In time we will be able to witness the existence
\nof an institution called the domestic press, which can face the
\nchallenges of the times with grit, while satisfying society's
\nneed for extensive, penetrating and accurate information.<\/p>\n
-- Suara Karya, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/criticism-of-the-press-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }