Heated rivalries no excuse for media to flout rules

Heated rivalries no excuse for media to flout rules

Ardimas Sasdi
Staff Writer
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

Fierce rivalries among electronic media amid a tightening
market, especially after the emergence of several new television
stations in the past few years, benefits the public as consumers
as each vies to present variety of entertaining programs.

But the heated battles among the broadcasters lately has run
contrary to public interests.

A case in point is a trend among private TV stations to air
dubious and controversial talk shows or present cheap music by
raunchy singers, further tainting Indonesia's already tarnished
image abroad.

A Malaysian writer expressed cynically that Indonesians "seem
to be more interested in the gyrations and pelvis pumping of sexy
singer Inul Daratista, who seem to be getting more television
airtime and press coverage, than any Indonesian including
President Megawati Soekarnoputri" and the simmering conflict in
war-ravaged Aceh province (The Jakarta Post, May 23).

Such a judgment merits our attention judging from the flagrant
violations of press ethics by some media, especially TV stations
and tabloids.

Laymen, senior officials, media watch executives and religious
leaders have queried the standards and practices in the media.

In a blunt, hard-hitting criticism during a gathering with
ulema (Muslim clerics) and Islamic organization activists in
Cianjur, West Java last week, Vice President Hamzah Haz lambasted
the shows as indecent programs which exploited sexuality at some
private TV stations. He also ordered the Ministry of Religious
Affairs to reprimand executives and owners of the stations.

The Vice President said that if left uncorrected, the sexually
liberated programs would have a negative impact on the younger
generation.

Hamzah's criticism was echoed again by State Minister of
Communications and Information Syamsul Mu'arif this week,
criticizing some print and electronic media which he said had
gone overboard by showing "pornographic" programs, even though
many were broadcast very late at night.

The concerns of senior leaders came on the heels of frequent
complaints from certain members of the public against the airing
of the talk shows and dubious sexually suggestive ads, which
infringe upon the code of ethics of the press and advertising
world, but have fallen on deaf ears in media boardrooms.

Among the questionable adult programs which sparked the above
outrage are Love and Sex on Metro TV and Bantal (Pillow)
on RCTI. Both talk shows, held in the form of interactive dialogs
with viewers, often touch on delicate issues such as love and sex
between adults, but are run by incompetent personalities. The
handling of such sensitive issues requires a lot more class,
dignity and tact from skilled persons -- qualities which are
lacking among the sultry, airheaded hosts.

In one recent episode of Love and Sex the host asked her two
celebrity guests bluntly whether they masturbated to satisfy
their sexual desires. Such a permissive attitude was also
displayed by a guest star portrayed in a silhouette. Upon
receiving questions from another guest during an interactive
dialog in a recent Bantal episode, she admitted to having sex at
her office everyday, while a man boasted of his intimacy with
several secret lovers.

Muarif argued that the government could not take action
against the recalcitrant TV stations, citing Article 18 of the
Press Law No. 40 of 1999 which states that no party, including
the government, would be justified if it interfered in the
program contents of the media. Those proven guilty of interfering
with program contents are liable to a two-month imprisonment or a
fine of Rp 500 million.

Yet article 3C of the Indonesian Journalistic Code of Ethics
states that the press shall not publish materials that are
offensive to moral standards, religion, belief or faith of a
person or groups protected under the law.

Advertisements are undeniably the main source of income for
the media, including electronic media. The slice of this
advertisement pie has, however, dwindled since the economic
crisis hit Indonesia in 1997, intensifying competition among the
media. The rivalry among broadcasters to procure ads has been
complicated by the birth of new TV stations like Metro TV, Star
TV, TV7,Lativi and Global TV in Jakarta and several TV stations
in the provinces.

One of the numerous questionable ads is an commercial on Irex,
a new but popular sexual enhancer for man at RCTI, which is aired
during the day and night time.

The ad portrayed a male worker, who complained to his
colleague upon receiving a SMS (short messaging service) from his
wife at home, that he had to do overtime (lembur) later. His
friend smiled broadly, saying that the request was not a big deal
and then offered a package of Irex. In the ensuing act, the same
man received another SMS, which reads Terima Kasih Kadonya, Mama
(Thanks for the Gift, Mom).

Most local TV viewers, especially adults, understand what the
message the marketer and advertiser want to pass through the ad.
But the timing of the airing of the ad during day time and the
way it was presented is not well-thought that it sparked
curiosity from unwanted targets -- children.

The competition among older, established broadcasters are also
very tight with stations like Indosiar and SCTV, which have
slowly grabbed a large chunk of ads, even surpassing the
country's oldest private broadcaster RCTI, which led the market
until 1999. These factors have forced TV executives to generate
new ideas and explore new sources of revenue by using all
possible means, including the airing of low-quality, cheap but
marketable programs -- some of them just plain rubbish --
although they cannot claim ignorance of the ethics and prevailing
laws.

Public protests over the broadcast of dubious talk shows,
which corrupt people's minds, deserve to be well-heeded by TV
executives. TV stations must not use tight competition or press
freedom as excuses to flout ethics and rules, but should take the
problem as a challenge to generate fresh ideas to produce
educational and entertaining programs, which are attractive to
advertisers as well.