Indonesian press: Walking a tightrope<\/p>\n
Arya Gunawan, Media Analyst, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Why is press freedom always considered by some as a pre-
\nrequisite for a democratic nation? According to a UK-based media
\nexpert, Richard Keeble, the freedom of the press is essential as
\nit creates a bridge between the rulers and the ruled. The press
\nprovides important information on political, social and financial
\nissues, so that the members of the public can use the information
\nto make the decisions that they think are right for their
\neveryday lives, including at the time of general elections
\n(Richard Keeble, Ethics for Journalists, 2001). So if the press
\nis suppressed, the impact is obvious: the public will not have
\naccess to information with the result that they will be blind to
\nthe realities around them.<\/p>\n
There are many examples in support of this argument. One of
\nthem is what happened in Indonesia under the New Order. The press
\nduring that period was a suppressed press, so that many important
\nstories were not allowed to surface. Many facts were swept under
\nthe carpet, or were orchestrated or manipulated. The impact was
\ndisastrous: the nation and the country is now on the brink of
\ncollapse in almost all areas of life. This has happened because
\nwe as the nation were too late in realizing that the economic
\ngrowth and political stability of which we were once so proud was
\nonly a mirage.<\/p>\n
The importance of press freedom must have been to the
\nforefront of the collective Indonesian press mind, especially
\ngiven the new difficulties that are being faced by the Indonesian
\npress nowadays. On one hand, the press has been enjoying the
\nfreedom that it had been dreaming of for so long under the New
\nOrder, but on the other hand the press has to exercise its
\nfreedom with more awareness of the importance of responsibility.
\nIt should also be noted that the responsibilities of the press
\nare becoming more important and relevant as there have been
\ncomplaints made by some elements in society who think that the
\nIndonesian press has sometimes been exercising its freedom in a
\nmanner that goes beyond what is acceptable to the public in
\ngeneral.<\/p>\n
After then president Soeharto's resignation in May 1998, the
\nIndonesian press became much more open, and this was then
\nstrengthened through the enactment of the new press law in
\nSeptember 1999. One of the consequences brought about by the
\nsudden coming into existence of a free press in Indonesia was the
\nbirth of many new publications, like the popping up of mushrooms
\nin the rainy season. Data from the Indonesian Press Council shows
\nthat in 1999 there were 1,690 publications all across the
\ncountry.The latest data shows that there are only 591
\npublications left to date.<\/p>\n
Where did all these new publications recruit their
\nprofessional staff members such as field reporters, senior
\neditors, managing editors and editors-in-chief? No comprehensive
\nresearch is available yet to answer this question. But it is
\nthought that most of them hired less professional, or even
\nunprofessional, staff. It is thus only to be expected that this
\ncore problem will generate various problems in the press itself
\nrelated to the standard of professionalism of journalists,
\nethical issues (from sensational news to cheap gossip and
\npornography), as well as problems concerning journalists' welfare
\nthat will in turn create some negative excesses such as \"envelope
\njournalism\" (journalists who receive money or gifts from their
\nnews sources).<\/p>\n
All of the above-mentioned internal problems of the Indonesian
\npress will quickly be jumped upon by parties outside the press as
\nan excuse for criticizing freedom of the press. This has happened
\nalready. There have been accusations from some members of society
\nthat the Indonesian press has crossed lines that should not be
\ncrossed, been sensational, and also been judgmental (\"trial by
\nthe press\"). There have also been voices demanding the revision
\nof the 1999 press law because it is considered too liberal.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian press society should carefully take into
\naccount all these complaints. Some of them are reasonable,
\nespecially those concerning ethics and professionalism. The
\nfreedom that has been enjoyed by the press over the last four
\nyears should not be exercised only for the sake of freedom
\nitself, because if that were the case then the freedom would
\nbring about many detrimental consequences for society at large.<\/p>\n
Freedom can only be exercised properly and appropriately if it
\nis coupled with another important element: responsibility. In a
\ntime of transition like Indonesia is experiencing, what is needed
\nis a responsible and professional press that can assist in
\nproviding guidance and direction for the nation as it attempts to
\nfind its feet again. Therefore, the complaints should be seen as
\nan invitation to the press to introspect, and to follow this up
\nwith concrete action to remedy all remaining weaknesses.<\/p>\n
However, if the complaints are just used as an excuse by those
\nin power to put new and more far-reaching limitations on the
\npress because they feel uncomfortable, see themselves being put
\non the hot seat, and fear that the free press could undermine
\ntheir power, then the press should be on the alert. Walter
\nLippman, the social thinker from America once stated that there
\nis no higher rule in journalism other than to inform the truth
\nand to humiliate those who are wrong.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian press nowadays is walking on a tightrope: on
\nthe one hand the press needs to safeguard the freedom it has won
\nafter a long struggle, but on the other hand it needs to exercise
\nits freedom carefully in order to avoid any potential backlash.
\nThere is one key word that will guarantee a balance:
\nresponsibility. And not new limitations on the press, since these
\ncould actually be the products of authoritarianism lurking behind
\nthe mask of the need to uphold ethics.<\/p>\n
And for Indonesia in particular, new limitations would only
\nsend the country back into the dark tunnel again, a tunnel in
\nwhich the public are denied information as was the case for more
\nthan three decades under the New Order. A period of darkness that
\nhas saddled the nation with almost insurmountable burdens.<\/p>",
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