'People power' needed to push for TV ethics

A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Sex and violence color television shows every day, with most TV stations screening programs with such content. Apart from relatively low production costs, the programs are among those most watched. However, many members of the public are concerned about it. The Jakarta Post's Sunday edition discusses the issue.

A few TV stations recently staged, filmed and broadcast a reenactment of the rape and burning to death of an eight-year-old girl by two boys in Bogor, West Java.

Exploitation of violence and sex is also common in soap operas, called sinema elektronik or sinetron here.

Many parents, especially mothers, worry about influence such programs might have on their children as many of the programs are aired in the morning or during prime time at 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

"Theoretically, (pictures or films depicting) violence can have a negative influence, especially on children. They could imitate it," University of Indonesia psychologist Nelden Djakababa said.

Nelden, who is also a counselor at the Pulih Foundation trauma center, said images of violence often prolonged the recovery process of trauma victims.

She suggested that parents watch television with their children so they can monitor their viewing.

However, spending time with children has become a luxury for working mothers and fathers, especially in big cities. Many children watch television with housemaids, who mostly are not aware or don't care about the impact television can have on youngsters.

A veteran television presenter and producer said crime programs that contain sex and violence promised big earnings for TV stations given their low production costs and high ratings.

With fewer than 10 crew members, a TV station can produce one crime program per week. Given the high ratings of the programs, many companies scramble to place ads during the programs.

With competition tight among stations, such programs are a safe bet for generating revenue and covering high operating costs. Many stations simply ignore any negative impacts the programs have.

In an effort to reduce the bad impacts, the newly established Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) has issued broadcasting guidelines, which, among other things, disallows TV stations from taking closeups of victims of violence, accidents and natural disasters.

The guidelines also stipulate that faces of victims of crime should be blurred for broadcasting.

The Indonesian Television Journalists Association has also established a code of conduct, which bars members from airing "overly violent" images.

However, no TV station seems to care about the regulations or the code of conduct as they carry no punishment. For the TV stations, ratings are king.

Media observer and executive director of Jurnal Perempuan (Women's Journal) Adriana Venny said the lack of punitive measures and public ignorance contributed to the mushrooming of TV programs that exploit violence and sex.

"In many developed countries, TV stations are fined for airing such programs outside the designated time frame. Here, TV stations are free to do as they please as there is no such regulation on the time frame for such programs," Venny said.

She thus suggested the public protest against any TV station that exploits violence or sex.

She said Jurnal Perempuan, along with other non-governmental organizations, once campaigned to urge parents to send letters to a private TV station calling for the suspension of a violent sinetron.

After receiving many protest letters, the station finally dropped the sinetron, which was about a female teenager who was abused by her father and then sold as a prostitute.

It is but one small example, but it proves that the public, if willing, can do something to stop the airing of TV programs that could harm people, especially children.