The medium is as important as the message<\/p>\n
Why has the government information campaign basically failed
\nin Papua?<\/p>\n
The answers may have to do as much with the low penetration of
\nthe media among the Papuan people as with the message itself.<\/p>\n
The IFES polling survey of 3,450 respondents found that many
\npeople in the province have no access to any type of media at
\nall, making them virtually isolated from the rest of the world,
\nand not just the rest of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The survey found that 52 percent of Papuans own radio, 41
\npercent have television, 17 percent read newspapers and one
\npercent read magazines.<\/p>\n
But as many as 34 percent of the population have no means of
\nkeeping them abreast of what is happening in their own vicinity,
\nand in the rest of the world.<\/p>\n
The provincial figures conceal a darker reality about the
\ndisparity, not between rural and urban (which is heavily skewed
\ntowards the urban), but more disturbingly, between the eight
\nmajor different tribes (Table 4).<\/p>\n
Table 4. Which media do you have access to in your home?<\/p>\n
.tb0.1" 1.0" 2.0" 2.5" 3.2" 4.0" 4.6" 5.4" 6.0"<\/p>\n
Lani\/Dani Yaly Asmat Marind Biak Sentani Moi Baham<\/p>\n
Radio 49 39 8 26 63 84 58 68<\/p>\n
TV 15 10 4 2 61 71 42 47
\nNewspaper 15 7 3 2 28 48 6 34<\/p>\n
Magazine - - - - 5 - - -<\/p>\n
None 42 58 92 73 18 7 28 23
\nSource: Public Opinion Survey Papua Indonesia, IFES<\/p>\n
.tb0.3"<\/p>\n
Newspapers are mainly read for news purposes (88 percent),
\nwhile radio is mainly listened to for news purposes. Television
\nis used to access both news (52 percent) and entertainment (46
\npercent). The survey found no significant difference in media
\nusage between different tribes.<\/p>\n
Most television (88 percent) and radio (90 percent) owners
\nwatch and listen every day. Newspapers are read mostly on a
\nweekly basis (55 percent) though 31 percent of respondents read
\nthem everyday.<\/p>\n
While the low penetration may have to do with Papua's
\ndifficult terrain and poor infrastructure that makes distribution
\nor access difficult, there is certainly a strong need for
\nsignificant improvement.<\/p>\n
The onus is more on the government to try to reach out to all
\nthe Papuans if it wants to win their hearts and minds and keep
\nthe territory part of the republic.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-medium-is-as-important-as-the-message-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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