Indonesian media under fire for bias, corruption<\/p>\n
Viva Goldner, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite the increased freedom it enjoys during the reform era,
\nthe national press is increasingly under fire, with accusations
\nof bias, corruption and a lack of professionalism among
\njournalists.<\/p>\n
Salahuddin, secretary-general of the Alliance of Independent
\nJournalists (AJI), expressed his concern that the fight for
\nprofessionalism was being hampered by the rampant practice of
\nwartawan amplop (pocket journalism), where the often poorly-paid
\nreporter is passed an envelope of money after an interview or
\nmedia conference in exchange for favorable coverage.<\/p>\n
"It is very common for Indonesian journalists to receive
\nbribes -- our research has shown some 80 percent to 90 percent of
\njournalists are indeed envelope journalists," Salahuddin said.<\/p>\n
"Many sources, even government bodies, contribute to this
\nsituation. Our research in 2000 showed that at least Rp 864
\nbillion was allocated by the government in the national budget
\nfor envelope journalism," he said.<\/p>\n
Mohammad Budyatna, a professor in mass communication at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia, said the media had lost focus in its
\ntransition from an authoritarian system to one of social
\nresponsibility.<\/p>\n
"The freedom enjoyed by the press today is too excessive,
\nbecause the journalists don't yet know how to be responsible to
\nthe government and to society," Budyatna said.<\/p>\n
He said a culture of libelous reporting was developing, where
\njournalists gave little consideration to the rights of
\nindividuals or the government.<\/p>\n
"The press should function as a watchdog -- to monitor the
\ngovernment and make corrections to the statements of government
\nofficials -- in order to expose corruption, collusion and
\nnepotism. But there is now a wildness in the dissemination of
\ninformation," Budyatna said.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri has twice slapped the media
\nover their knuckles, most recently on Friday during the
\ncelebration of National Press Day in the South Kalimantan capital
\nof Banjarmasin.<\/p>\n
While encouraging the press to remain critical, Megawati said
\nthe media had the responsibility to offer solutions to all the
\nproblems the country was facing.<\/p>\n
"We are not supposed to, and should never, lose our critical
\nstance. We indeed need criticism, likewise we should provide
\nsolutions to the problems.<\/p>\n
"If necessary (the critics) should substantiate the validity
\nand reliability of the alternatives they offer," said Megawati to
\nthe cheers of the audience.<\/p>\n
A few days earlier, Megawati rapped the media for their
\ncoverage of the floods which she said placed too much the blame
\non the government.<\/p>\n
While reporters are obliged to abide by an official code of
\nethics, Budyatna said many journalists were not even aware of the
\ncharter's existence.<\/p>\n
Articles in the PWI code of ethics prohibit a journalist from
\nreceiving payment from sources, and stipulate reporting must be
\nbalanced, objective and factual.<\/p>\n
Salahuddin said there was a tendency for journalists to
\nsensationalize the events of the day, with reports aimed at
\nheightening conflict and emotion rather than objective analysis.<\/p>\n
He also criticized the style of jurnalisme omongon (talking
\njournalism), where the statements of public figures are used as
\nthe basis for news stories without clarification or concern for
\nthe implications of the statement.<\/p>\n
Despite his criticism of the press, Salahuddin expressed
\nconcern over government attempts to regain control over the media
\nthrough legal measures.<\/p>\n
The government, he said, aims to restrict press freedom by
\nproposing the Criminal Code bill which contains 40 articles that
\ncould lead journalists to prison. The existing Criminal Code
\ncomprises just 37 articles related to crimes committed by the
\npress.<\/p>\n
The government's plan to revise the 1999 Broadcasting Law has
\nalso sent a warning to the media as 21 out of the 63 articles in
\nthe new draft are intended to restrict the media, he said.<\/p>\n
AJI data in 2001 revealed 95 cases of violence and
\nintimidation against journalists.<\/p>",
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