National press

National press

From Neraca

I would like to inform the press that National Press Day should rightfully be looked upon as a memorable day. It is also a day the press can reflect on ways to improve itself.

President Soeharto expressed his concern about the national press which has increasingly adopted a "foreign frame of thinking" in their coverage of national issues, by "looking at development through foreign glasses".

Speaking on National Press Day Jan. 12, Soeharto said the foreign frame of thinking can be likened to glasses that color the perception of a country's development and its surroundings.

The President also said that if one were to look through colored glasses at an incident, one would see everything through those glasses. The use of "foreign spectacles" by reporters has resulted in the dramatization of the recent riots, followed by hastily drawn conclusions and imbalanced reporting on the country's development.

On account of this, the government hopes the national press would intensify and familiarize itself with the use of the ethical code based on the values of Pancasila. In this way, the Indonesian press could step forward in a professional way and maintain its integrity.

Independent people of the press should scrutinize Pak Harto's words and they should improve their journalistic professionalism, so that they would not waver under the weight of global interests.

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