'People power' needed to push for TV ethics
'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.