New Order thinking prevalent regarding community broadcasting<\/p>\n
Arya Gunawan, Coordinator, Communication Sector, UNESCO Indonesia,
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Is community broadcasting so scary in the government's eyes?
\nState Minister for Communication and Information Syamsul Muarif
\nhas said that community broadcasting can provoke racial, ethnic,
\nand religious conflicts in such a diverse nation like ours.<\/p>\n
The government is thus willing to scrap community
\nbroadcasting, which is already recognized in article 18 of the
\nBroadcasting Bill. The bill has been debated in the legislature
\nsince two years ago.<\/p>\n
Syamsul's view still echoes the thinking of the New Order,
\nwhich prioritizes security. In this case the legislature
\nrepresented the reformist view, at least in taking the initiative
\nto recognize community broadcasting in the Bill.<\/p>\n
Is security really the right reason for omitting provisions on
\ncommunity broadcasting from the bill? None of the racial, ethnic,
\nreligious conflicts so far had anything to do with community
\nbroadcasting.<\/p>\n
There are three big systems in the world's broadcasting
\nindustry: Public broadcasting, private\/commercial broadcasting,
\nand community broadcasting. A public broadcasting institution is
\nusually owned and supported by the state, and its broadcasting
\npolicies controlled by one public institution. It is independent
\nof government, political parties, or other interests. Funding is
\ncollected from the public. England's British Broadcasting
\nCorporation (BBC) is a classic example of a public broadcasting
\ninstitution. A commercial broadcasting institution, on the other
\nhand, is owned and run by commercial companies or individuals,
\nwhich provide a profit-oriented information service.<\/p>\n
A community broadcasting institution has a number of special
\ncharacteristics: It does not go after profit, it is owned and run
\nby a community -- through foundations, organizations, or co-
\noperative movements -- and provides service for a limited,
\nusually homogeneous, community.<\/p>\n
At first glance, there are similarities between community and
\npublic broadcasting, because it broadcasts non-profitable
\nprograms, such as those related to education, practical
\ninformation, local entertainment, cultural and religious
\nprograms. The difference is that a public broadcasting
\ninstitution must cater for a whole nation, so that its programs
\nare not very specific; while a community broadcasting institution
\nserves the people in a more local context.<\/p>\n
The non-commercial nature of community broadcasting is
\nreflected in its coverage of operational costs and the nature of
\nthe programs. Costs are covered by small scale, non-commercial
\nannouncements, such as for local events, song requests or family
\nannouncements (deaths or weddings); and most programs are local.
\nIn this context, community broadcasting occupies a strategic
\nposition amidst the wave of globalization that tends to obscure
\nlocal richness and content.<\/p>\n
The government's fear of community broadcasting is also
\nunreasonable. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and
\nCultural Organization (UNESCO) and many other institutions, have
\nbeen actively involved in developing community radio in various
\nparts of the world. So far, community radio has not been proven
\nas an institution that has potential to disintegrate a nation.<\/p>\n
On the contrary, community radio has proved effective in
\nreducing and even eliminating potential conflicts -- because it
\neducates the community to solve and overcome conflicts in
\ndemocratic manners through debates, arguments, and negotiations;
\nas opposed to violence.<\/p>\n
Colin Fraser and Sonia Restrepo Estrada, in their Community
\nRadio Handbook (UNESCO, 2001) say that community broadcasting
\ngives voice to the voiceless, enabling local communities to voice
\nthemselves out. With that, they will feel that attention is being
\npaid to them, their rights respected, and in the end this will
\nneutralize the intention to \"rebel\"; something that can lead to
\nefforts to separate themselves from the rest of the nation.<\/p>\n
Community broadcasting has several technical limitations, so
\nthat will also reduce the possibility of mobilizing people with
\n\"bad intentions\" in massive numbers. For example, it has a
\nlimited transmission power (around 20 watts), resulting in a
\nlimited coverage (20 to 30 square kilometers); serving 25,000 to
\n40,000 people, all of which is usually homogeneous, e.g. the
\nfishing community.<\/p>\n
Besides, a community broadcasting institution has to have a
\ncode of conduct, designed with a high awareness not to touch on
\nsensitive issues in a given community such as racial issues. The
\ngovernment could always cancel a station's frequency license in
\nevent of a violation of such a code of conducts.<\/p>\n
Through community broadcasting, people follow developments in
\ntheir surroundings which are useful in their daily decisions. It
\nalso has some practical benefits. The community radio (combined
\nwith the Internet) in Kothmale, a village in Sri Lanka, for
\ninstance, has provided valuable information on the right way to
\nproduce flour, or the best way to bend rattan for making
\nhandicrafts.<\/p>\n
In the last four years, Indonesia has witnessed the illegal
\nemergence of hundreds of community radio. Illegal, because they
\ndon't have frequency license. They know that the government will
\nnot grant them a frequency, even if they apply for that. This is
\nbecause community broadcasting has yet to be recognized in any of
\nthe laws or regulations on the media. Now they are all waiting
\nfor acknowledgement and provisions from the government -- not
\nprohibition.<\/p>\n
The article, contributed by the writer, was first published in
\nIndonesian in the July 1-7 edition of Tempo weekly magazine.<\/p>",
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