Ethical dilemmas in Indonesian television

Ethical dilemmas in Indonesian television

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The rampant programs on television depicting violence and sex
begs a question: Are people in the TV industry equipped with any
knowledge of ethics?

Magazine journalist Ferdiansyah, an alumni of the School of
Communication at the University of Indonesia, said that he had
only received brief instruction on ethics in communication during
his four years of study.

"We were taught ethics and philosophy in communication.
However, it was very broad and did not cover ethics in
broadcasting," he told The Jakarta Post.

Ferdiansyah, who once worked for a production house that
provided programs for TV stations, said that beside working for
advertising agencies many of his classmates worked for TV
stations and production houses.

Production houses play an important role in the TV industry as
TV stations outsource the making of many programs to these
companies.

Chairman of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI)
Victor Manayang, who is also a lecturer at the University of
Indonesia's School of Communications, admitted that the lack of
understanding of ethics among workers in the TV industry could be
a factor behind rampant "unethical" programs on Indonesian
television.

Universities should thus be blamed for failing to provide such
knowledge.

"We at the University of Indonesia's School of Communications
are still trying to improve the curriculum so as to raise the
awareness of students about ethical values in the broadcasting
industry from the beginning of their studies," he told the Post.

He noted that many of professionals and decision makers in the
broadcasting industry didn't come from communication schools but
from business schools or other faculties, which had different
approaches to ethics.

"They have different values, and as they see TV as just a
business enterprise, and they will prioritize profit over all
other factors. The challenge now is how to reconcile ethics with
profit motives," he said.

He said that the nature of the TV broadcasting business was
that if a TV station had a program that succeeded in attracting
viewers, other TV stations would copy the program.

"If they don't do this, their rating will decline. It explains
why there are so many crime and ghost stories on TV," he said.

Agreeing with Victor, Amalia Kartika, an RCTI anchor, admitted
that several programs on television had little educational values
but that TV stations kept them in place due to ratings
considerations.

"I think RCTI has dropped most of its controversial shows,"
said Amalia, who herself is an alumni of the University of
Indonesia.

Ferdiansyah said that many new generation TV professionals
had come to realize that many TV shows sucked and were
ridiculous. However, they could not do anything to change their
companies' policies as they were powerless, being at the bottom
or the middle of the organization

"I am sure that little-by-little these younger professionals
will take their turn, and pursue different policies," he said.