Press criticized over poor arts coverage
Press criticized over poor arts coverage
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian press is to blame for the public's ignorance of the development of local arts because of its superficial coverage, a senior journalist says.
J.B. Kristanto of the Kompas daily said at the National Arts Congress yesterday that many journalists who cover the arts do not have adequate knowledge of the subject.
Therefore, their writing or criticism of any artistic event is below standard, he said. As a result, the readers get only "a small amount of information on arts" instead of a comprehensive analysis of works of art, he said.
Kristanto said that the press, both printed and electronic, tend to give greater coverage to mass art such as pop music and films because they are more interesting and easier to produce.
These pop arts dominate newspaper and magazine pages as well as the television screen, he said.
Even the coverage of this easily-digested arts is not "serious" and tends to focus more on gossip rather than the content, he said.
The trend has affected the development of local arts, including traditional, classical and contemporary music. "They are given no room in the media, and thus become far removed from the audience," he said.
Kristanto again blamed the pop culture-dominated media for the stunted development of traditional and classical arts. "Only a few of the local media pay serious attention to traditional and rare arts," he said.
Kristanto, however, refused to put the entire blame on the journalists.
"It's the system of the local press which should shoulder the responsibility," he said. Nobody, for instance, has hired competent art critics to produce quality writing on arts in newspapers or magazines.
"Granted, there are art critics and even artists who write their own analysis, but readers usually find it hard to digest their writing," he said.
"Special skills are needed in order for an art critic to be able to convey his ideas to readers," he said. "Artists tend to be subjective in their writings, expressing their opinion as though the readers can understand their every thought."
Kristanto also charged that the managers of press companies rarely give their journalists the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge of arts through formal learning programs.
Many newspaper and magazine editors lack "cultural vision", he admitted.
He said journalists often learn on the job, "attending performances, interviewing artists, and reading various books".
To aggravate the matter further, he said, most reference books on arts are in English and produced in Western countries.
The book History of Arts by E.W Gombrich, and The Oxford Illustrated History of Theater by Russel Brown are examples of good reference books, but they focus on the development of arts in Western countries, he said.
"It's very difficult to find a reference book on Indonesian arts," he said.
"There is only a limited amount of information available here for people who want to know about Indonesian theater figures such as the late Arifin C. Noer, or the history of traditional drama or dances." (raw)
Schools -- Page 2