Press faces new enemies lurking on the horizon<\/p>\n
National Press Day will be celebrated this week. Sociologist
\nAriel Heryanto recalls experiences of the Indonesian press and
\nlooks at the challenges that lay ahead.<\/p>\n
SALATIGA (JP): The Indonesian press has found itself under the
\nincreasing threat of the ever-expanding power of electronic
\nmedia. Such pervasive fear is attested to by an upcoming seminar
\nin the Central Java town of Surakarta this Saturday.<\/p>\n
Representatives from print and electronic media will discuss
\nwhat is viewed as the ill-fated press in the midst of an
\nelectronic media boom.<\/p>\n
While the nature of the threat is open to debate, the common
\nfear is in itself instructive. It marks a watershed in the
\nnation's political, economic and technological history. In the
\ngreatest part of this century the Indonesian press saw itself as
\na heroic figure, carrying out a mission of social liberation,
\nmodernity and progress. Its strongly-held convictions were to
\nreveal the truth, educate the masses, and expose injustices. In
\nshort, journalism was a political activism.<\/p>\n
Such vision is not merely an empty illusion. Before the 1980s,
\nactivism was still predominant in the work of Indonesian
\njournalism. What made some journalists more notable than others
\nwas moral commitment, personal courage, integrity and charisma.
\nProfessionalism or formal training and qualifications came much
\nlater, as did enormous capital and huge profits.<\/p>\n
The public's enchantment with the activist-cum-journalist was
\nconsiderably enhanced by severe state censorship that
\ncharacterized colonial societies before World War II, and the
\nSecond and Third Worlds after the War. Information was not only
\nscarce, but limited and regulated. Truth was inaccessible to the
\npublic, or too dangerous for public discussion.<\/p>\n
That atmosphere was more a product of state monopoly of
\ninformation and suppression than technological shortcomings. The
\nnotorious haatzaai artikelen (Dutch colonial penal codes that
\nprosecuted anyone for expressing disrespect, hatred or hostility
\ntowards state agents in public) was designed and vigorously
\nreinforced specifically to target nationalistic journalists in
\nthe East Indies.<\/p>\n
Now that's all history. But the haatzaai artikelen is still
\nalive and kicking in today's Indonesia, although after 1973 its
\nmain target shifted from journalists to student activists. Today
\nfew journalists have any idea what haatzaai artikelen is. What is
\nresponsible for the change and how?<\/p>\n
The New Order is undoubtedly responsible for the sustained
\ngrowth of capitalism during the past three decades. Ironically,
\nits success has denied the state all-encompassing, monopolistic
\npower. Increasingly it must share power and rely on cooperation
\nwith the emergent bourgeoisie and urban middle class
\nprofessionals. Privatization, deregulation, openness and
\ndemocratization have become new key words since the 1980s in lieu
\nof development, stability, order, defense and national
\nresilience.<\/p>\n
The state has less and less power or interest in suppressing
\ninformation and banning news publications. When last banned
\npublications, it found it was no longer as easy to get away with
\nas it was during the first two decades of its rule. If anything
\nthreatens the old-idealized personification of the Indonesian
\npress today, it may no longer be the Ministry of Information or
\nthe Military Information Center.<\/p>\n
In 1986 the state gave up its monopoly over television
\nstations. By 1995 the number of private television networks rose
\nto five. They all but made the state-owned television company
\nobsolete. With the launching of private television networks, the
\nstate eased restrictions on televised commercials. More recently
\nit chose to ignore the as yet unlicensed, independently-produced
\nnews items on private television and radio. In 1994 it announced
\nthe most pro-market decree, allowing foreign capital to run
\nbusinesses in sensitive areas, including mass media.<\/p>\n
Like everything else, no social change takes place without
\ntwists and exceptions. The notorious June 1994 media ban can be
\nseen to run counter to the argument above. However, the same
\nevent can be read to indicate the state's uncontrolled paranoia
\nin encountering its painful but inevitable decline.<\/p>\n
If the state is no longer a sole threat to the contemporary
\nIndonesian press, what is? Greed is one. Competition among media
\nentities is another. Intermedia war will probably be more fierce
\nin the years to come. What is at stake is not simply a slice of
\nadvertisement revenues, but new authority of producing and
\nnarrating truth. Global Internet has compounded the whole
\nsituation, making the battle more chaotic.<\/p>\n
The writer is a sociologist based in Salatiga.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/press-faces-new-enemies-lurking-on-the-horizon-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }