Local TVs opt for 'fool's gold'

Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

When Taufik Hidayat won the gold medal in the Olympic men's badminton singles in Athens last Saturday, most Indonesians were unaware of his victory until they picked up their newspapers the next day, as none of the 11 stations here televised the event.

Twelve years after its first gold in Barcelona, Spain, the nation lost the chance to see history in the making, due to the budget constraints of TV stations, who decided that the Games were too costly to air.

Yet, most Indonesians were otherwise occupied as they tuned into the popular talent show Akademia Fantasi Indosiar (AFI), eager to find out who would be ousted from the competition.

Questions are raised as to whether the country's TV stations have got their priorities right, in focusing on entertainment rather than information and education.

Professor of sociology at the University of Indonesia Paulus Wirutomo, said on Monday that TV had a greater impact on the public than any other media as it was so readily absorbed. However, its ability to inform and educate the public was playing second fiddle to the commercialization of the media.

"Television nowadays is focused mostly on entertainment, with celebrity gossip shows, mystery shows and the like competing against each other for ratings," said Paulus.

He explained that top ratings roped in more investors and resulted in higher profits.

"The stations air shows that are profitable. And that means entertainment shows, as they are the viewers' favorites," he said.

Another sociologist, Ignas Kleden, agreed with Paulus, saying that in aiming for top ratings, stations sometimes aired shows of a dubious nature.

"Take a look at most mystery and crime shows. Most of the time they are irrational and don't make sense," Ignas told The Jakarta Post.

Two TV stations -- Indosiar and Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia (RCTI) -- dismissed Ignas' comments, saying that crime shows served a useful purpose.

Indosiar public relations head Gufron Sakarin said the purpose of airing crime shows was to make the public more aware.

RCTI public relations manager Teguh Juwarno agreed with Gufron, explaining his company had a policy of reducing the violent content of shows by editing out close-ups of victims.

As for mystery shows, Gufron said that Indosiar no longer aired them, due to their controversial nature, and Teguh said that RCTI had stopped airing such shows since last May as it did not want to deliver the wrong message.

Both stations air shows which entertain, while being to some extent educational -- Indosiar shows the popular Kuis Siapa Berani and LG Prima, and RCTI, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

"The shows deliver ample information and educate viewers without skimping on entertainment," said Gufron.

Although both Gufron and Teguh did not deny that television was a ratings-orientated business, they claimed that being critical of popular shows was an insult to their viewers. "They are the judges who determine the ratings," said Teguh.