Observers warn against increase in 'bad journalism'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Observers and veteran journalists warned here on
\nTuesday against an increase in \"bad journalism\", and called on
\nthe media to regulate itself in upholding professionalism and its
\ncode of ethics.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a seminar on the media, Southeast Asia Press
\nAlliance deputy chairman Lukas Suwarso said unprofessional
\njournalism was a result of an \"excess\" of the country's newfound
\nfreedom and openness.<\/p>\n
\"The fledgling democracy in the country has brought about a
\nnumber of mediocre and partial media, and they don't care about
\nthe code of ethics,\" Lukas, who was formerly the chairman of the
\nAlliance of Independent Journalists, said.<\/p>\n
He said these media were merely published to serve and to
\nvoice the interests of certain political groups, and sometimes
\nused to undermine their political foes.<\/p>\n
He said it was therefore the duty of well-established media
\n\"to direct and widen (the views of) its readers\" in order to keep
\nthe public from reading bad journalism.<\/p>\n
But the chief editor of Tempo weekly magazine, Bambang
\nHarymurti, who also spoke at Tuesday's seminar, said earlier that
\nbad journalism would not survive the competition because the
\npublic would eventually tire of sensationalism.<\/p>\n
\"You can lie one time, but you can't lie all the time,\"
\nBambang said when discussing a number of the newly founded
\n\"yellow\" newspapers and tabloids.<\/p>\n
He said, however, that \"free press tyranny is better than
\nmilitary or civilian tyranny\", as the former could not \"kill or
\nsend people away to jail\".<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid has repeatedly pledged his full
\ncommitment to a free press, but rebuked some media earlier this
\nmonth for abusing the country's new freedom.<\/p>\n
The President said \"freedom should go hand in hand with the
\nability to use it wisely\".<\/p>\n
He said that \"in the past months, we, Indonesia, have
\ndeveloped a trend of investigating everything and spending our
\nenergy on so many activities unnecessarily, while forgetting the
\nessential things (that need) to be monitored\".<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman also said developing professionalism and ethics
\nwas the responsibility of the press itself.<\/p>\n
But the President also failed to condemn, and seemed to
\ntacitly accept, a recent incident of intimidation involving
\nNahdlatul Ulama (NU) civilian guards at the Jawa Pos office in
\nSurabaya, East Java, after the daily published false allegations
\nof corruption and nepotism involving NU officials. (byg)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/observers-warn-against-increase-in-bad-journalism-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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