Local TVs opt for 'fool's gold'

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.