Jakarta Has a Story—Where Is Its Screen?
In a previous article, “A Global City Without a Broadcasting Regulation: Jakarta Is Forgetting Its Public Space”, the author discussed the absence of a regional regulation governing broadcasting in Jakarta. This raises a more specific question: how can Jakarta create a broadcasting space that records the city’s journey, preserves local identity and gives voice to residents as the capital approaches its 500th anniversary in 2027?
Jakarta has been shaped by its long history, the richness of Betawi culture and the diverse experiences of its metropolitan residents. The ambition to make Jakarta a cultured global city requires not only physical development but also a space for public communication. From the perspective of deliberative democracy, Jürgen Habermas emphasises the importance of a communications space where everyone can express views, put forward arguments and have an opportunity to be heard in the formation of public opinion (Muzzaqi, 2013).
Jakarta’s public sphere risks becoming restricted if people are treated only as recipients of policy, rather than as participants who can discuss and criticise it and influence the direction of the city’s development. An open communications medium is therefore needed, allowing residents to initiate discussions, develop ideas and question policies and social issues. In this context, local television could be considered one means of strengthening Jakarta’s public communications ecosystem, particularly by providing local information, developing culture and widening public participation.
Several regions in Indonesia have television stations that reflect their local identities, including Aceh TV, Bandung TV, Jogja TV, Semarang TV, Sriwijaya TV, Sumut TV and Surabaya TV. Jakarta already has JAKTV, a private local television station that has been broadcasting since 2004 and covers various issues in the capital. However, a private local broadcaster is distinct from a public broadcasting institution owned and managed by the regional government.
Given Jakarta’s position as a national centre of government, the economy and culture, the question is not whether the city has local television, but to what extent the regional government is developing broadcasting policies and institutions that specifically guarantee public information services for residents. Jakarta’s people can also actively contribute to the public sphere with content rooted in local wisdom, making local television a medium directly connected to the community.
The absence of a city-owned television station in Jakarta should be seen not merely as an institutional issue, but as a question of how a public information space is built within local democracy. Public broadcasting matters because democracy requires more than giving residents a channel through which to choose their leaders; it also needs spaces where people can understand issues, express their aspirations and hold government to account.
In a city as varied as Jakarta, such a space is needed to bring different community interests together amid increasingly complex urban challenges. Transport, the environment, housing, education, healthcare and social welfare all require sustained discussion that is accessible to the wider public. Jakarta television could contribute through in-depth reporting, public dialogue and educational programmes that make residents’ needs an important part of the city’s development agenda.
The establishment of a television station for Jakarta should also be considered in the context of the relationship between the public interest and the political economy of the media. Surokim (2012) notes that local broadcasting is shaped by economic and political interests, which can influence public discourse and the way reality is presented. In such circumstances, the public interest, truth, justice and the voices of marginalised groups risk being overlooked when they compete with media owners’ agendas or political interests.
Although bias cannot easily be eliminated altogether, broadcasters still have a responsibility to put the public interest first and maintain distance from partisan alignments. This is especially relevant to Jakarta: the need for a broadcasting space cannot be met simply by establishing an institution or providing a channel. More fundamentally, the city must build a space that serves people inclusively, gives under-represented groups a platform and avoids allowing coverage to be dictated solely by particular economic or political interests.
Ultimately, the question “Jakarta Has a Story—Where Is Its Screen?” is not simply about establishing a television station. It concerns how Jakarta can create a broadcasting space that records the city’s journey, brings together diverse interests and gives a place to voices often overlooked. Jakarta needs more than a screen that shows events; it needs a space where residents can see, understand and discuss their own city. A cultured global city is not merely one known around the world, but one that gives its people room to tell their own story.