Leaders, media must adapt to changes<\/p>\n
Ardimas Sasdi, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, ardimas@thejakartapost.com<\/p>\n
In what could be viewed as a New Year's gift, President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri criticized the media over what she called
\nunbalanced reporting of the ongoing protests against the
\nsimultaneous hikes in fuel prices and some utility rates.<\/p>\n
\"The media is not sympathetic to me, they always perceive my
\nwords wrongly ...,\" Megawati complained last Wednesday, adding
\nthat the negative reports had resulted in damaging public opinion
\nagainst her administration.<\/p>\n
This is the third time the President has expressed her
\nirritation with the media in the last 12 months.<\/p>\n
Last February Megawati rapped the media over the knuckles for
\nits reporting of floods, which inundated most parts of Jakarta,
\nkilled more than 30 people and forced 380,000 people to take
\nrefuge in temporary shelters.<\/p>\n
In August, Megawati again charged the media with blowing out
\nof proportion the plight of tens of thousands of Indonesian
\nworkers expelled by Malaysia and stranded in Nunukan, East
\nKalimantan.<\/p>\n
Each time she protested, Megawati reminded the press to remain
\nobjective. The calls strengthened public opinion that Megawati is
\nauthoritarian and allergic to criticism. Her comments sound
\nstrange in a democratic nation.<\/p>\n
The President last February even told the media that it had a
\nresponsibility to offer solutions to the problems the country was
\nfacing. This expectation is beyond the ability of the media
\nbecause it is not a 'super agency' which can do everything as it
\ndoes not have the resources to do so. The best the media can do
\nis to offer alternative solutions as they have done in
\neditorials.<\/p>\n
In the reform era the press has been under fire from some
\nquarters who regard its coverage as excessive.<\/p>\n
The other charges leveled against the media include privacy
\nviolations, mixing facts with opinions, trespassing on press
\nethics, bias, a lack of professionalism, graft and a failure to
\ncarry out its mission as a watchdog.<\/p>\n
Some of the criticisms are true and have been made by the
\ncritics with the intention of encouraging the press community to
\nreflect on its performance.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Press Council chairman Atmakusumah Astraatmadja
\nsaid accuracy and fairness in reporting was not merely a crucial
\ncomponent, but it was 'the soul' or the true spirit of
\njournalism.<\/p>\n
The media are aware of the golden rule and have made attempts
\nto the best of their ability to meet the highest possible
\nstandards in reporting. The media checks and rechecks facts, and
\npresents reports in a balanced and objective manner to build
\ntrust among its readers and advertisers. Big media organizations
\nhave even established independent ombudsman commissions, whose
\nduties are to give input to the management on the content of
\nnews, including accuracy.<\/p>\n
But the task to raise standards in reporting is easier said
\nthan done due to some practical reasons: time constraints, space
\nlimitations, sources not telling the truth, a lack of access to
\ninformation and graft.<\/p>\n
Framing is another temptation among media. The media can
\nfilter information, emphasis and tone, or keep debate within the
\nbounds of acceptable premises in line with political and economic
\npreferences of the owners of the media organizations.<\/p>\n
Unintentional bias may also occur in reporting due to limited
\nunderstanding of events by journalists.<\/p>\n
German researcher Thomas Hanitzsch said (The Jakarta Post,
\nDec. 31, 2002) that almost 70 percent of around 14,000 Indonesian
\njournalists have no professional education related to journalism,
\nalthough 75 percent do hold an S1 (B.A.) degree.<\/p>\n
In the reform era which evolved five years ago, the problem of
\ndeveloping professionalism among journalists was exacerbated by
\nthe euphoria of democracy and tougher competition to win readers
\nin line with the rapidly growing number of media outlets.<\/p>\n
The case of media bias, blamed as one of the factors behind a
\nlove-hate relationship between the leaders as the source of
\ninformation and the press, is not a unique case of Indonesia. It
\nalso happens in other countries even though the form, frequency
\nand gradation is different.<\/p>\n
But the existing leaders, including Megawati, are also to be
\npartly blamed for media bias. The last five years has seen a rare
\ntype of political communication. Former president Abdurrahman
\n\"Gus Dur\" Wahid talked too much, while Megawati talked too little
\nor talked late and at the wrong time and place. This was
\ndemonstrated in her speech to party cadres in Bali on why the
\ngovernment took the bold measures to raise prices of the
\nutilities.<\/p>\n
The poor relations worsened after Megawati, for unknown
\nreasons, distanced herself from the press at the beginning of her
\npresidency. The President restricted access through various ways,
\nleaving the media no place to seek information on government
\npolicy because the President had no spokesperson.<\/p>\n
The media are fully aware of the noble upbringing of Megawati
\nas the daughter of founding president Sukarno, but they cannot
\ncomprehend the stance taken by a leader who chooses to stay aloof
\nin her ivory tower amid the deteriorating economic and political
\ncondition.<\/p>\n
The ups and downs of ties between Megawati and the media
\nfollowed the pattern of the press relations with Gus Dur.<\/p>\n
It is no exaggeration to say that in the beginning the media
\nwas a staunch supporter of Megawati because the critical press
\nhad been part and parcel of her rise to prominence in the early
\n1990s from a little known politician.<\/p>\n
The media only changed its position against the President last
\nyear because of her criticisms against the press and a unique
\npolitical communication type.<\/p>\n
So unclear was the communication strategy of the incumbent
\ngovernment, lately public relations experts have also criticized
\nMegawati. They urged her to stop blaming the media and instead
\nreach out by building a strong communications team to improve the
\nimage of her government.<\/p>\n
Another factor the President and her advisors might forget is
\nthat Indonesia has moved from a controlled press to a free press.
\nIn a free press regime, the leaders must expect to get both good
\nand bad press. The leaders cannot generalize a mistake made by
\none media organization because generalization is always wrong.<\/p>\n
The potential for conflict between news sources and the media
\nis bigger in the era of a free press. The solution to this
\nphenomena is both sides must learn and adjust to this changing
\nsituation.<\/p>",
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