RI should allow more Australian reporters

RI should allow more Australian reporters

JAKARTA (JP): Participants of a meeting between senior
Australian and Indonesian editors yesterday agreed that one of
the ways to improve positive coverage here is to allow more
correspondents in.

Several Australian editors said that having more
correspondents in Indonesia would be helpful not only in
disseminating information in Australia but would also reduce
their journalists' inclination to spotlight trouble spots in East
Timor and Irian Jaya.

Gregory Hywood of the Australian Financial Review said that
the presence of more journalists here would help shift the focus
of news about Indonesia away from the two territories to coverage
of other aspects of life here.

Bilateral relations between the two countries have often been
strained by Australian press reports which portrayed Jakarta's
policies in East Timor and Irian Jaya in a negative light.

Ian McIntosh of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
pointed out that the media is able to contribute to efforts to
enhance bilateral ties.

Foreign correspondents who are to be posted here have to get a
license from the Ministry of Information.

Until very recently, there was only one correspondent
representing the Australian media here. There are now eight.

"There's too much at stake (for the two countries) to shut the
media out," McIntosh said.

Gathering

Yesterday's gathering of senior editors from the Australian
and Indonesian media was the second organized by the Australia
Indonesia Institute (AII). The first meeting was held in Sydney
last year.

Fourteen editors from Australian print and electronic media
attended the meeting. On the Indonesian side, such notables as
Jakob Oetama of Kompas daily and former ambassador to Australia
Sabam Siagian attended the meeting.

Also present was Richard Woolcott, the chairman of AII and
former Australian ambassador to Jakarta.

While ignorance and cultural differences were perceived as the
reason behind some misunderstandings between the two countries,
the editors acknowledged that, by the very nature of the media
industry, it is bad news that attracts attention.

"Friction creates interest," Hywood said.

Another participant pointed out that even if 10 articles were
written about positive developments here, people would still more
likely remember the one "bad" news article.

"Bad news is news," remarked the editor.

Earlier in the day, Richard Woolcott, on behalf of the AII,
presented 53 photographs to the Antara national news agency.

The photographs depict Australia's role in the fight for
Indonesian independence during the late 1940s. (mds)