Bogus journalists nurtured by corrupt officials
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Bogus journalism has thrived in this country for decades thanks to rampant corruption
Many press and public relations officials in government offices and companies deliberately encourage the existence of bogus journalists to ensure that their employers continue to provide funds to pay these unscrupulous characters off.
Bogus journalists usually take an aggressive attitude during press meetings and often push good news sources to the side with their persistent or nonsensical questions. They only become quiet after receiving envelopes containing cash.
In reality, many press officials secretly take some of the "press funds" for themselves, leaving only a small amount of the money for the bogus journalists.
"There wouldn't be any ants without sugar. Bogus journalists wouldn't turn up if they knew we were not going to give them envelopes. Many firms have adopted a policy of giving envelopes to journalists at the suggestion of their press officers, who actually want to make money themselves from the policy," said Ryan, not his real name, a press officer with a medium-sized private bank.
According to Ryan, his department had decided to allow bogus journalists to attend the company's events because most of his colleagues wanted to make "extra money".
"The company has decided to provide Rp 100,000 (about US$11) for each journalist, but we usually cut it to Rp 50,000. You can count yourself how much we get if there are, say, 300 journalists attending one of our events," said Ryan.
Aside from companies, bogus journalists also ask for money from state institutions and offices, the police, public prosecutors and members of the House of Representatives.
Naryo -- not his real name -- a public relations officer with the Ministry of Transportation, said his ministry had always allocated money for not only bogus journalists but also for real journalists who were looking for extra money.
"If we don't play along with these bogus journalists, they will disrupt the working environment in our office. They will keep arriving in droves to disrupt our events and even our day-to-day activities," said Naryo.
Besides, Naryo said, a number of officials in the ministry used their services to blackmail colleagues or officials in state-owned enterprises.
"Bogus journalists keep terrorizing corrupt officials. Once they get money from the corrupt officials, they share it with the officials who gave them the info about the corruption," said Naryo.
The Ministry of Finance is among the few governmental offices that has managed to stamp out bogus journalism.
"It is easy to deal with such journalists. First, don't allocate any money for them, and second, we should be brave enough to say that we don't provide envelopes or any other form of payments," said Sofjan, a press officer at the ministry.
Sofjan, who has been dealing with the press for 25 years as part of his work at the ministry, recalled that the ministry used to be invaded by hundreds of bogus journalists every time a new director general of customs and excise was inaugurated.