Phony journalists hit Central Java

Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Purwokerto

More than 100 phony journalists have been defrauding people of money across Central Java over the past few months, causing unrest among local senior government officials, businesspeople and politicians.

Carrying fake press cards, they often force their way to meet with regents, other government officials and news sources within the province on the pretext of interviews to be published in their print media, but in the end they blackmail them for money.

"We have observed that they (bogus reporters) started to appear here over the last year. As genuine journalists, we are offended and our image is tarnished by their action," said Didi Wahyu, an activist of the Central Java branch of the Indonesian Journalists' Association (PWI).

He said there were more than 100 bogus journalists, locally known as wartawan bodrek or reporters without newspapers, magazines or tabloids, ostensibly "working" in regencies across Central Java.

"Recently, they have begun to operate in the town of Banyumas," Didi told The Jakarta Post.

He admitted he had frequently been informed by officials at local administrations about the spread of bogus journalists in their regencies.

He said that local officials and businesspeople should not hesitate to report any genuine journalist who attempted to extort them to the police.

"Such practices are against the journalistic code of ethics and journalists who try to extort their news sources should be reported to their own employers to be dealt with in accordance with the code of ethics," he said.

Didi said the local PWI office and prospective victims were powerless to stop or crack down on bogus journalists.

However, he said his association had continued to try and deal with bogus reporters by organizing workshops for government officials and politicians in Central Java.

Last Saturday, a one-day workshop was held in Purwokerto regency, in which the subject focused on how to face phony journalists.

Earlier, the regencies of Brebes and Tegal hosted similar workshops.

The Post observed that almost all the phony journalists claimed to work for dubious publications based in Jakarta, but were unable to produce copies of the newspapers, magazines or tabloids mentioned in their press cards.

In Purbalingga, at least three phony journalists reportedly tried on Friday to force staff members of the regency's legislative council to allow them to meet the council's speaker.

Earlier, other bogus journalists were also involved in a verbal clash with Purbalingga Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Sofyan Abadi, who, at the time, pretended to be his own adjutant.

The phony reporters wanted to meet the local police chief, but they were unaware that the police officer who talked with them was the man they actually wanted to meet.

"We know the Purbalingga police chief well. We want to meet him," Agus recalled the three bogus journalists as saying, quoting from their statement.

After they had waited for some hours to meet with the local police chief at his office, Agus eventually said that he was the man they sought.

Finally, the three were so ashamed they left the building without asking for permission.

In other parts of the country, particularly Jakarta, there are also many unscrupulous people posing as journalists. They extort government officials, politicians and business tycoons, especially those involved in criminal cases.

The problem is difficult to solve as there is no law in place to prevent or punish unscrupulous people from posing as journalists.