Govt called on to give new status to 'TVRI' and 'RRI'
JAKARTA (JP): A group of media owners, journalists and senior editors suggested yesterday that the state-run television network TVRI and radio station RRI be given the new status of "public broadcasting service" organizations like the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) or the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
The group, calling itself the Committee for Media Reform, said the stations should continue to receive state funding but function mainly to serve society instead of serving the government.
They argued that state-owned stations would soon lose their audience unless they were allowed to reform.
"The consequences are that they have to compete with private broadcasting stations who are no longer obliged to relay their news," the committee's spokesman, Ulil Abshar-Abdalla, said.
Private television stations are required to relay three national and international news programs daily. The requirement for private radio stations to relay news from RRI was recently reduced from 14 times a day to three.
The media committee presented its views to House of Representatives Commission I for information affairs in a hearing yesterday.
Among the committee members present were the owner of the Jawa Pos media group Dahlan Iskan, chief editor of The Jakarta Post Susanto Pudjomartono and chief editor of Matra magazine Fikri Jufri.
The hearing was presided over by Commission I Deputy Chairman Aminullah Ibrahim of the House's Armed Forces faction.
The media committee urged legislators to loosen regulatory requirements, such as the need to have a publication license.
They argued that every citizen should have the right to establish their own media companies, and it should be only market forces which determine which survive.
They also called on the Press Council, currently under the Ministry of Information, to be replaced by an independent press council to which the public could address their concerns on media issues.
They further suggested that each medium appoint an ombudsman, someone of seniority who is acquainted with but independent from that medium, to oversee, assess and receive public complaints on its work.
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Minister of Information Muhammad Yunus has already indicated that he will be more open with the media and shown a willingness to revoke stifling media laws passed in the Soeharto era.
On Wednesday he said that the 1997 Broadcasting Law which allowed only five private television stations to exist would soon be revised.
Yunus also believed it was the people's own judgment which would determine a media company's survival.
"So, we'll let them decide. Don't just forbid them," he said.
Antara reported yesterday that the government had accepted an offer from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to assist progress toward a free and open press.
The news agency quoted UNESCO director Stephen Hill as saying that the assistance was accepted after he met with Yunus on Wednesday.
"Encouraging press freedom at this time is a very important component of the reform agenda in promoting both the learning and voice of the people. UNESCO is delighted to be able to assist the government of Indonesia in this important enterprise," he said.
Hill observed that the minister had already put significant policies into practice aimed at removing impediments to media approvals and moving toward a more transparent and open legal base for Indonesian media expression. (aan)