Ethical, good journalism is not easy or cheap

Ardimas Sasdi, Jakarta

Though it came very late and was mild, last week's call by the Press Council for the media to maintain journalistic independence in the upcoming regional elections deserves applause. The appeal was justified in line with the council's duty to ensure that the press maintains its ethics.

The council should have rung the bell a long time ago in the face of rising ethic violations by journalists and media outlets over the past seven years. The public has been protesting these violations in letters to the editor, by filing hundreds of complaints with the Press Council and in expensive lawsuits filed by prominent figures, especially politicians and wealthy businesspeople.

"The council made the appeal ... (but its implementation is up to the press). Journalists and the media must be independent," Ichlasul Amal, chairman of the Press Council, said as quoted by detikcom.

The reform era, which began with the demise of Soeharto's authoritarian regime in 1998, gave birth to a fair measure of freedom of expression and a freer press, but it also brought about an aggressive reporting style and voyeurism. This problem was compounded by a lack or disruption of training and education for journalists, the perception among some journalists that adhering to ethics impeded freedom of the press, the failure of senior journalists to act as role models and low salaries.

Faced with harsh economic realities, some reporters and editors in the provinces have worked on the campaign teams of political candidates to supplement their meager incomes. No figures are available on the number of journalists who took such side jobs, but it is believed to reach hundreds with over 400 candidates contesting local elections. In East Java, Arif Afandi, chief editor of the Jawa Pos daily, even ran as the running mate of a candidate from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the Surabaya mayoral election.

Conflicts of interest resulting from this sort of active participation in politics is a relatively new phenomenon born out of the direct presidential election in 2004. The most striking example was the mobilization of journalists from Media Indonesia daily and Metro TV news station by media magnate Surya Paloh last year to support his candidacy during the Golkar Party convention and later in the presidential election.

Taking second jobs, particularly in politics, is not specific to journalists in developing countries like Indonesia. But in developed countries, reporters or editors who take outside jobs resign or take unpaid leave to avoid any conflicts of interest.

Ethical quandaries in Indonesia arise because journalists who take secondary jobs firmly cling to their positions in the media. Young journalists cannot, however, be entirely blamed for this, as they are just following the tradition established by older journalists. During his 32 years in power, Soeharto adopted a policy known as "positive interaction", an approach seen by critics as the co-optation of the press by the political rulers. During the New Order era, some senior journalists served as legislators while retaining their positions in the media.

As part of this approach, Soeharto helped media firms by subsidizing transportation fees for print media to the regions and organizing training and education courses for journalists. Journalists who covered certain beats also received monthly allowances, called "transportation fees", from government agencies. This unique relationship left the media with almost no option but to toe the government line. And still Soeharto reserved the power to close down any media outlet that was critical of him.

Louis A. Day, a professor of journalism at Louisiana State University in the U.S., said in Ethics in Media Communications: Cases and Controversies that conflicts of interest in journalism fell into three broad categories, based on where they stemmed from: conflicting relationships, conflicting public participation and conflicting personal interests.

Conflicts of interest resulting from conflicting relationships include the acceptance of freebies, junkets, gifts, discounts, envelopes and perks, while secondary employment or membership in organizations falls under the category of conflicting public participation. Organizational policy on ethics is clear: banning the acceptance of perks and freebies, and discouraging outside jobs, except work relating to the promotion of knowledge like teaching and participating in seminars, symposiums and conferences.

However, Conrad C. Fink, a journalism professor at Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, said in Ethics: In the Newsroom and Beyond that the first move toward ethical, responsible behavior must come not from the newsroom, let alone individual journalists, but, rather, from the executive suite. The owners must be committed to excellence, and that means a commitment of money, Fink said.

Fink is correct and this is a great challenge for the Indonesian press, which invests very little money in news coverage and human resources development. The majority of journalists, especially those who work for smaller media outlets, are paid less than Rp 1 million (US$110) a month. In Medan, North Sumatra, some publications simply give press cards to reporters, who use the IDs to extort money from news sources, especially corrupt officials.

The call of the Press Council to maintain journalistic independence is laudable, as conflicts of interest could undermine professional loyalties, but the problem is not simple. For this noble goal to work there must be a commitment by the media to excellence, including a commitment of money. Good, ethical journalism is not cheap.

The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.