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this means that the media organization would not be able to publish anymore, not because their publishing license had been revoked, but because they would have lost their readers' trust," the statement said.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)