Journalists association supports press licensing

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) said yesterday it fully supports the present licensing system as a way of regulating the press industry.

The House Commission I in a hearing with PWI executives said the press licensing system has virtually taken the sting out of the country's newspapers and magazines.

Aisyah Amini, chairperson of the commission which oversees the flow of information as well as security and foreign affairs, suspected newspapers now are opting for safety, printing "safe stories", Antara reported yesterday.

Other commission members said journalists only touch the surface without delving into the depths of the issues in their news.

The licensing system empowers the minister of information to revoke the publishing licenses of newspapers and magazines, an irreversible move that virtually kills them.

PWI chairman Sofyan Lubis said the system is actually for the protection of journalists, the news agency said. He did not elaborate.

Sofyan, chief editor of Pos Kota daily newspaper, said the association is empowered to withdraw a recommendation for a chief editor of a newspaper, one of the main requirements in press licensing.

The association would exercise this power, if, in its view, the chief editor of a publication failed to control his journalists or the content of the newspaper, he said.

Sofyan stressed however that the association would try to prevent the government from revoking press licenses.

He emphasized that PWI is not a subordinate of the bureaucracy. "We will strive for our independence, but we also have to preserve our partnership with the government. Without cooperation, we cannot run the organization," he said.

Aisyah argued that any revocation of the license should be determined by a court of law, rather than carried out by the minister of information.

This is important to avoid the impression that PWI is depriving people of the right to conduct business, she said.

Sofyan said the PWI does not revoke the press licenses.

PWI Secretary General Parni Hadi, agreed with suggestions that the press industry should strive for more diversity.

"God willing, we're getting there. Maybe not overnight, but we are working on it," Parni, chief editor of the Republika daily, told the hearing.

He conceded that spineless journalism, ceremonial journalism and ritual journalism can still be found in the Indonesian media. "But I think that kind of journalism would be abandoned by the audience eventually." (emb)