Time to remember journalists<\/p>\n
By Ignatius Haryanto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): This year The New York Times won three Pulitzer
\nprizes for stories on corruption in Mexico, special coverage of
\nthe U.S. Supreme Court and for critical commentary on police
\nbrutality in New York (Kompas, April 16).<\/p>\n
It is a sort of rite for journalists the world over to devote
\nspecial attention to the months of April and May. The Pulitzer
\nwinners are announced in April by Columbia University in New York
\nwhile in May, World Press Freedom Day is observed.<\/p>\n
April is the month for celebrating exclusive reports by
\njournalists of high quality while May is the month of concern as
\non May 3 the Committee to Protect Journalists announces the fate
\nof journalists the world over, be they incarcerated, murdered or
\nunemployed because the media they work for have been closed down.<\/p>\n
While on the one hand achievement wins appreciation, on the
\nother hand concern deserves our attention. These are the two
\nfaces of the world media as the manifestation of solidarity shown
\nby members of the media community in more advanced countries.<\/p>\n
The Pulitzers consist of 14 categories: public service, spot
\nnews reporting, investigative reporting, explanatory journalism,
\nbeat reporting, national reporting, international reporting,
\nfeature writing, commentary, criticism, editorial writing,
\neditorial cartooning, spot news photography and feature
\nphotography.<\/p>\n
How does a publisher react on learning that one of its
\njournalists has been awarded a prize?<\/p>\n
The Times placed an advertisement in the April 12, 1998 issue
\nof Editor & Publishers, congratulating its three staffers on the
\ninternational reporting, commentary and spot news photography
\ncategories.<\/p>\n
The following was written under the ad: \"The Newspaper Group
\nof the New York Times Company comprises The New York Times, The
\nBoston Globe and 21 regional newspapers. What all our papers have
\nin common is the guiding mission of journalistic excellence. We
\nsalute the dedicated men and women who embrace that mission every
\nday, three of whom have been honored with 1997 Pulitzer Prizes.\"<\/p>\n
Another ad from the Associated Press news agency in the same
\nmagazine reads: \"Celebration! The AP won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize
\nfor feature photography, the cooperative's 43rd and 25th for
\nphotos, the most Pulitzers for photography of any news
\norganization. It's also the AP's sixth Pulitzer for photography
\nin seven years.\"<\/p>\n
In 1997 Alexander Zemlianichenko, an AP photographer, won the
\nPulitzer Prize for the feature photography category for his
\npicture of Russian President Boris Yeltsin merrily dancing at a
\nconcert held in connection with his nomination for a second term
\nas Russian president.<\/p>\n
These two advertisements illustrate the pride the two world
\nnews organizations took in the prizes. To a publisher, a
\njournalistic achievement recognized by a world-class institute is
\nan invaluable asset to confirm itself as a reliable media
\norganization. Achievement is not something to hide because it is
\nsomething that must be accorded with appreciation.<\/p>\n
What about the appreciation for journalistic achievement in
\nIndonesia? Do our publishers take pride in journalistic prizes
\nawarded to them, such as the Adinegoro Prize or other citations
\naccorded in conjunction with national days?<\/p>\n
Or perhaps we may ask whether or not there are journalistic
\nworks in Indonesia that deserve appreciation from other
\njournalists?<\/p>\n
And then, do publishers take pride in the prizes awarded them
\nand their journalists and photographers? Do they consider the
\naward an asset to spur their achievement and bolster their
\nday-to-day activities?<\/p>\n
Since the Adinegoro Prize was first awarded in 1974, this
\nprize has not commanded respect among journalists themselves and
\nprize recipients themselves may not think that they have attained
\none of the peaks of performance in their journalistic career.<\/p>\n
Why does such a pride seem to be absent in Indonesia? Does the
\nreason lie, perhaps, in the fact that journalists themselves do
\nnot fully appreciate the work ethos of a journalist?<\/p>\n
The absence of such a pride may represent the self-reflection
\nof journalists who suffer an inferiority complex within their own
\nprofession so that they will feel \"nothing out of the ordinary\"
\nwhen receiving a prize which should otherwise fill them with
\npride.<\/p>\n
The Pulitzers are 82 years old. The first one was introduced
\nin 1916 when a journalism prize was named after one of the great
\nfigures in U.S. press history, Joseph Pulitzer.<\/p>\n
Pulitzer, however, is not the only institute devoting
\nattention to the development of quality journalism in the United
\nStates. There are other factors supporting this prize-awarding
\ntradition in journalism, such as the emergence of many
\njournalistic schools, the growth of the media (print and
\nelectronic) industries and the birth of a number of journals or
\npublications specifically dwelling on journalism.<\/p>\n
Journalism Quarterly, Journalism Monographs, Columbia
\nJournalism Review, Nieman Reports and a magazine like Editor &
\nPublishers could be cited as examples in this final category.<\/p>\n
One may be astonished on reading \"Every Saturday since 1884\"
\non the heading of Editor. It means that it is now entering its
\n114th year.<\/p>\n
The issue of promoting quality journalistic reporting has been
\ntreated very seriously since then. Interaction takes place
\ncontinuously between practitioners and academicians on the one
\nhand and moralists on the other in the establishment of a culture
\nof the nation's journalism.<\/p>\n
The code of conduct, which defines what may and may not be
\ndone in pursuing the journalistic profession is also the result
\nof a tug-of-war involving the three elements above.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, there have been several special publications
\ndevoted to journalism in the past. Wartawan: Madjallah Persatoean
\nWartawan (Journalist: Magazine of the Association of Journalists)
\nwas first published in April 1946. Pers Indonesia (the Indonesian
\nPress) which was first published in 1970 and continued into the
\n1980s. Up to the mid 1990s the Dr Soetomo Press Institute,
\npublished Reporter. After three years, the magazine disappeared.
\nIn 1996 the Press Council published the first Journal Pers
\nIndonesia (the Indonesian Press Journal).<\/p>\n
The question, however, is whether or not there is interaction
\ninvolving practitioners, academicians and moralists in Indonesia
\nwith respect to journalistic reporting. A deeper study is needed
\nto answer this question. The Adinegoro Prize itself is not
\npopular among our community members.<\/p>\n
Have winners of Adinegoro Prize really produced masterpieces
\nin their journalistic reporting in Indonesia? Do the categories
\ncontested in the Adinegoro Prize every year show progress in
\nIndonesia's standard of journalism? When can we have
\ninvestigative reporting or monumental photography which can also
\nbe appreciated within the media community?<\/p>\n
Or, is it a reflection of our indifference to the production
\nof quality reporting and a demonstration that some reporters
\nregard their job as merely a routine to make ends meet?<\/p>\n
Or, perhaps, the present situation shows that a pride-
\ninspiring journalistic tradition has yet to be established in
\nIndonesia because journalism is always under external pressure,
\nexerted by the power of the state, and the power of capital,
\nwhich invisibly curtails journalists' freedom to work.<\/p>\n
Or, perhaps still, this thesis is wrong and, unknowingly, much
\npride-inspiring journalistic work has been created and has
\nstealthily made its way into our journalistic annals.<\/p>\n
The writer is chairman of the Institute for Press and
\nDevelopment Studies in Jakarta.<\/p>",
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