Media hype

"Bad news is news," said a visiting Australian newspaper editor to an interviewing journalist from The Jakarta Post several years ago. I disagree. A publication not balancing the good and the bad isn't really being honest. Concentrating on negative events distorts the full story. But it is really hard to defy editorial decisions made by powerful press enterprises in New York, Paris, London, or Sydney.

Indonesia, long considered too peaceful to be of much interest, now finds itself on the world's front pages. It is not in a way most Indonesians would prefer. Perhaps fearing that the "news" offerings served may be too bland, events are often spiced up. Critics of the press call it media hype. The truth is, most Indonesians are not rioting or are even planning to.

Not all journalists or commentators on Indonesia report in a one-sided way. The best correspondents from overseas seem to be those who have been here a relatively long time, speak the language, have a broad-based network of knowledgeable contacts, and have done extensive homework on Indonesian affairs. I've noticed a number of names in this category.

The worst reporters are those I prefer to call the "vulture" types: extremely cynical, who parachute in because they are attracted to crisis, believe they know all about Indonesia from having read a few books, and after arriving in this country, head for the nearest trouble stop, then send dispatches from here trying to convince the world that they are like Peter Arnett reporting from Baghdad during the Gulf War. Unfortunately, their editors in Paris or New York sometimes think they are, and give them large headlines on the front pages.

FARID BASKORO

Jakarta