Media's future remains bright, Budyatna says

By Wirasti Wiryono

JAKARTA (JP): The Dean of the University of Indonesia's School of Social and Political Sciences, M. Budyatna, is a mass communications expert, but he never shies away from discussing political issues.

Most journalists interviewing him can usually be guaranteed objective, if not downright sharp, opinions on issues as sensitive as the national leadership.

He sounds most lively, however, when speaking about press freedom and the increasingly stiff competition in the industry. Yesterday, he expressed confidence that the prospects for the Indonesian media remained bright, and gave his recommendations on how to handle information affecting the country's development.

"Television offers the brightest and most lucrative prospects in the next decade," he told The Jakarta Post, citing high profits from advertising, economic growth and wide audience reach as the main reasons.

He said business involvement in print media has been less successful, despite the existence of national publications such as Media Indonesia, Bisnis Indonesia and Gatra. He said print media, especially newspapers, remain the domain of the veteran members of the press.

The Indonesian media is burdened with problems such as inadequate human resources development, finances and management, Budyatna said.

Under the countries press laws, foreign investors are barred from owning media concerns but this may change with the recent House of Representatives' endorsement of the broadcasting bill, and the rise of a free market economy.

From technical and financial perspectives, the Indonesian media as a whole have bright prospects, he said, but the specter of censorship and fear of losing one's publishing license loom large for all media organizations.

The weekly news magazines Editor, Tempo and Detik, for instance, were banned without warning in 1994.

Confusing

Budyatna said news coverage was often confusing and unclear, but he blamed it on the government's fear that publicizing of sensitive issues could trigger violent unrest.

He called on the government to accommodate the growing calls for openness from a population which is better educated and more critical as a result of media exposure provided under the government's development programs.

"Otherwise, the public will resort to the Internet, with its lack of regulations, which could be more dangerous and provoke public uprisings beyond our control," he said.

Budyatna acknowledged that media exposure, including news programs and advertisements, have the most powerful impact on viewers who may be easily prompted to aspire to a lifestyle they do not fully understand.

Budyatna said many television station employees still learn on the job rather than being equipped in advance with the necessary skills to cope with the technical complexities of the medium.

Of the five private television stations, RCTI and Indosiar lead the battle to win viewers and ratings, he said. The others are ANteve, SCTV and educational television station TPI.

Budyatna cited Indosiar, owned by the Salim group, for its ability to identify and develop unique programs with regional flavors.

He said these includes Javanese puppet shows (wayang) and live plays Srimulat, while RCTI has enjoyed success through the popular television serial Si Doel Anak Sekolahan and comedy show Baso.

Malaysians

The research and programming at Indosiar were masterminded by experienced Malaysians with experience at direct satellite broadcasting company StarTV in Hong Kong.

Radio stations, operating in the most tightly regulated medium, have to broadcast 13 daily news programs from the state- owned radio station RRI. They act mostly as a forum for music, entertainment and advertisements.

"Television stations, on the other hand, can be more creative and develop their own news programs, a move tolerated by the government, whose own policies in this matter have not been very consistent," he said.

Budyatna has also taken action to meet the shortage of skilled of broadcasting professionals; the University of Indonesia plans to establish a three-year broadcasting diploma program in September 1997 and a television lab.

The program is to be financed by Rp 3 million (US$1,250) annual tuition fees, with 80 percent of the cost being subsidized by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

"The theory of communications has been a major part of the university's program to date but we will try to strike a balance between theory and practice," he said.