Journalists told to become more professional
Journalists told to become more professional
JAKARTA (JP): Despite a government promise not to revoke
publishing licenses, the media will remain vulnerable to legal
action unless it improves its professionalism, the Indonesian
Journalists Association (PWI) warned here yesterday.
The association's ethics council called on reporters to
rigorously practice journalistic principles such as
"impartiality, honesty and fairness, precision and accuracy".
"Especially now when we are facing economic crisis and rising
political tension following waves of student protests. These all
are a call on the media to stick to our agreed ethical norms," it
said.
The media must be proportional in its reporting and avoid
"excessive and misleading interpretations" of news events, the
organization said in a statement.
It said media organizations could be closed down through
actions other than the revocation of their publishing licenses.
Such actions include sanctions from the association's ethics
council and criminal or civil lawsuits.
The association said such measures could be taken under the
1982 Media Law and that once a media organization was found to be
in breach of the Journalists' Code of Ethics, it could lose its
readership or even go bankrupt.
"So this means that the media organization would not be able
to publish anymore, not because their publishing license had been
revoked, but because they would have lost their readers' trust,"
the statement said.
The association's warning came after at least two criticisms
from President Soeharto to the Indonesian media for
"disproportional" reporting on the country's economic crisis.
The President has said that the media frequently reported
baseless rumors or news without taking into consideration whether
it was newsworthy, accurate or what the impact would be on the
nation.
Soeharto first voiced such criticism Feb. 9, when the nation
was commemorating National Press Day. His last warning came April
16 when he said media reports on the country's situation had been
"inaccurate and misleading".
He said such unbalanced reports, in both the print and
electronic media, could hinder government efforts to restore the
country's economy since they tarnished Indonesia's image abroad.
The President has told Minister of Information M. Alwi Dahlan
to pay serious attention to supervising the nation's media.
Alwi, a mass communications professor, however, acknowledged
that government officials sometimes failed to provide
comprehensive information to the media.
Responding to the such concerns, PWI's ethics council called
on news sources to be "more open, accurate and thorough" in
giving out information.
"It's because journalists' success in carrying out their duty
depends on the extent all members of society are helpful,
respectful and trusting of the media's rights, duties and
responsibilities," the statement said. (aan)