'Violence on TV erodes people's sensitivity'<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto and Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post,
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Criminals with nasty scars and tattoos have been regularly
\nentering the living rooms of millions of Indonesians in the last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
The popularity of the crime\/reality TV broadcasts -- mainly
\nshowing police arresting, manhandling and sometimes shooting
\nvarious street criminals -- are now aired on almost every TV
\nstation.<\/p>\n
A sociologist from University of Indonesia (UI), Paulus
\nWirutomo, warned that such excessive broadcasting of violence on
\nTV would have a negative impact on society as the shows would
\nerode the nation's natural sense of repulsion to violence.<\/p>\n
He explained that when people were continually exposed to
\nviolence, they began to accept it as a common occurrence, and
\nthus are themselves not opposed to using violence if the
\nopportunity presents itself.<\/p>\n
\"Slowly but surely, people become desensitized to perverse
\nbrutality. Violent acts then become such a big part of their
\nknowledge base it naturally affects their behavior,\" Paulus told
\nThe Jakarta Post recently.<\/p>\n
Airing reports of police capturing known criminals itself is
\nimportant, he said, as it educates people about the existing
\ncrimes. The reports that show police getting tough in cracking
\ndown on criminals, as long as procedures are being followed, are
\nalso important so that people know that the police are ridding
\nthe streets of criminals.<\/p>\n
Paulus, however, emphasized the need for TV stations not to
\nfocus on so much violence. He also advised them to refrain from
\nshowing dead people who had suffered lethal wounds, because such
\nvulgarity should not be shown to the general public.<\/p>\n
The Press Council must also create guideline for TV stations
\non how to broadcast criminal reports. The council must also issue
\nwarnings against TV stations which violate the guidelines, he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
\"As members of the council are selected by media
\nrepresentatives in the country, the media company must respect
\ntheir decisions. I think it is important for the media to make
\nself corrections,\" Paulus said.<\/p>\n
National Police deputy spokesman Sr. Comr. Zainuri Lubis also
\nlamented the media which have failed to abide by general ethics
\nin airing such violence, regardless of market demand, which the
\nstations often refer to in justifying the shows.<\/p>\n
\"The airing of wanton violence will not bring any good for
\npublic education,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
Zainuri also said that the police, as an institution, should
\nnever allow the press to film their operations.<\/p>\n
\"Any raids are supposed to be carried out undercover. The
\npresence of journalists carrying a camera will be too obvious and
\nthe raids can be leaked to the targeted criminals which could
\nallow them to escape,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, the police are unable to ban the press as it is the
\nright of the media.<\/p>\n
Last year, the police issued a circular prohibiting the press
\nfrom interviewing suspects. But now, tens of millions of viewers
\ncan clearly hear the suspects during interrogation on their TV
\nscreens.<\/p>",
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