Media experts urge journalists to help enlighten the public

Media experts urge journalists to help enlighten the public

Israr Ardiansyah, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Media experts have urged Indonesian journalists to
abide by the existing journalistic rules for the sake of
maintaining professionalism amid the difficulties produced by the
current economic crisis.

Speaking at an international symposium on Media, Security, and
Peace: "Crisis Communication and Democracy" in Yogyakarta on
Tuesday, the experts said that maintaining professionalism was
badly needed to help enlighten the public.

The one-day symposium, which was organized by the Yogyakarta-
based Atmajaya University and Germany's Ilmenau Technical
University, presented several media experts and social analysts
as speakers. They included Herbert Feith from the Australian
National University (ANU), Martin Loeffelholz from the Ilmenau
Technical University, Astrid S. Susanto from the University of
Indonesia, Deddy Mulyana from the Bandung Islamic University, and
The Jakarta Post's editor-at-large Susanto Pudjomartono.

Hans-Juergen Bucher, a professor of media science at the
University of Trier, Germany, said that journalists must follow
the journalistic rules even though the situation may not be
conducive for them.

"I can only suggest that journalists act professionally and
follow journalistic rules," he said.

He admitted that it was almost impossible for journalists to
avoid bias in their reporting. "It's nearly impossible to avoid
bias because of the problem of perspective. An outlaw in one
person's viewpoint could be a freedom fighter in another's," he
said.

"The most important thing is that the media has to understand
that it should contribute something to the community. Even though
they cannot avoid bias, they should enlighten people," he added.

Bucher said the latest media developments, marked by the
presence of the Internet, entailed certain consequences for the
media, including a realization that it was becoming a factor of
crisis itself.

"The Internet also has its dark sides: the spreading of
rumors, hoaxes, false information and bias," he said.

According to Bucher, there is no need for the government to
control this kind of media. "The Internet is the most democratic
state of the media. Once false information has spread through the
Internet, some people will correct it through the Internet too,"
he said.

Deddy Mulyana, a professor at the Bandung Islamic University
(UNISBA), underlined the importance of the media in not helping
to spread intergroup labeling in Indonesia.

"The Indonesian people used to be flooded with various labels
that tended to discredit certain groups in Indonesia. One example
was the "Anti-Pancasila" label. If labeling is intensified by the
media, the effect of labeling will be much greater," he said,
referring to Pancasila as the state ideology.

"The media should be more careful in treating cultural and
political groups that are perceived unfavorably by the
government, and in reporting intercultural conflicts among
different groups," he said.

Political analyst from the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS) Kusnanto Anggoro admitted that the
prolonged conflicts in certain parts of the country had placed
the media in a difficult position.

"The media is in a hard position as on the one hand it should
conduct investigative reporting by finding out the facts, while
on the other it should also publish some responsible reporting as
part of the commitment to nation- and state-building," he said.

"Maybe the solution (to such difficulties) is for the media to
cover both sides, keep open and clear, and bring the message of
peace and peaceful resolution of conflicts, democracy and
justice. The media has to educate its readers," he said.