Fake journalists and press integrity<\/p>\n
Ignatius Haryanto, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post cover story on March 20 about bogus
\njournalism was very interesting.<\/p>\n
I agree with the Post's thesis that the practice of bogus
\njournalism has found fertile soil in Indonesia, where corruption
\nis so widespread, and the people's ignorance about this issue
\nwill effect the integrity of the press. By illustrating some
\nexamples of bogus, or \"envelope journalism\", many readers will
\nhave a clearer picture of how this kind of journalism works and
\nwhy the phenomenon is such a delicate one.<\/p>\n
One of the factors behind bogus journalism is the low salaries
\nof journalists, creating a situation where journalists demand
\nmoney for their transportation and other needs, since their
\ncompany cannot afford to pay them a decent salary. It is
\nunbelievable that a media company can operate without being able
\nto pay its workers a living wage.<\/p>\n
According to a survey by the Alliance of Independent
\nJournalists (AJI) on \"envelope journalism\", most regional
\ngovernments budget some money for regional media coverage and for
\nan annual contribution to a particular journalists' association.
\nIn addition, regional governments have to provide partial support
\nfor the state news agency and the state television and radio
\nstations.<\/p>\n
The term used to describe these payments in the budget is
\n\"propaganda, information and documentation\". Money for
\njournalists also can be taken from the \"operational budgets\" of
\ngovernment officials.<\/p>\n
Another study conducted by the Surabaya branch of AJI in 2000,
\nfound that only 13.8 percent (36 journalists) of 276 journalists
\nreceived a salary of more than Rp 1 million a month. Most of the
\nrespondents were paid between Rp 250,000 and Rp 500,000 a month
\n(94 journalist, or 34.1 percent of total respondents).<\/p>\n
The local minimum wage at that time was Rp 236,000 a month, so
\nalthough most of the respondents were paid above the minimum
\nwage, they still did not earn enough to cover their daily needs.<\/p>\n
AJI has initiated a program to draft a new media code of
\npractice, inviting media companies to sit down together and come
\nup with a new code for both the print and electronic media.<\/p>\n
This initiative is extremely important for everyone in the
\nmedia. Concern over the integrity of the media is shared by
\neveryone involved in the initiative, and they all realize that it
\nis better to be self-regulated than have regulations imposed on
\nthe media from the outside.<\/p>\n
Work on the new code began in the middle of March and will
\ncontinue until the beginning of May 2005. Hopefully, the result
\nwill be a new media code of practice.<\/p>\n
One of the speakers at this marathon meeting, Kees Bertens, a
\nprofessor of philosophy and ethics at Atma Jaya University,
\nunderlined the status of the profession as a moral community,
\nequipped with a code of ethics. According to Bertens, a code of
\nethics would also protect public against abuse by journalists.<\/p>\n
At the same meeting, I shared my study of public complaints to
\nthe Indonesian Press Council from 2000 to 2002. The study showed
\nthat most public complaints were related to inaccuracy in
\nreporting and a failure to cover both sides of stories. Those are
\nbasic problems of Indonesian journalists, and they are also basic
\nrequirements for journalists to do their job.<\/p>\n
There are lots of things that need to be done to improve the
\nquality and integrity of the press in Indonesia. Beside revising
\nthe media code of practice, some effort must be made to provide
\nbasic journalism training for journalists, improve their
\nknowledge of media ethics and last but not least, oblige media
\nowners to pay their journalists proper salaries.<\/p>\n
Without a combination of such actions, we cannot hope that the
\nIndonesian press will gain more respect from the public in the
\nfuture.<\/p>\n
The writer is a media researcher at the Institute of Press and
\nDevelopment Studies in Jakarta, and a steering committee
\ncoordinator for the Alliance of Independent Journalists' Media
\nCongress. He can be reached at ignh@yahoo.com.<\/p>",
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