'Seputar Indonesia' still rules the TV news airwaves
By Stevie Emilia
JAKARTA (JP): In eight years, it has broken new ground in TV news broadcasting, set many trends in the industry and staved off fierce challenges from others trying to emulate its success.
Seputar Indonesia, RCTI's news program broadcast nightly at 6:30 p.m., has had its ups and downs. Although not as popular as it once was, it still claims to be the most popular news program on commercial networks.
According to Survey Research Indonesia, an independent TV rating agency, Seputar Indonesia garners a 20 percent to 25 percent ratings share for the five cities of Greater Jakarta, Greater Surabaya, Medan, Bandung and Semarang on a typical day.
It was one of the first programs Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia (RCTI) produced after it obtained the nation's first private television license in 1989, and it was once one of the most popular of all TV shows.
There were many reasons for its instant success.
Indonesians were for the first time presented with an alternative to TVRI, which had held a monopoly on all television news.
The concept for the news program hit RCTI's commissioner Peter Gontha in the same year he set up the channel.
"The idea came to me after evaluating our programs back then, which were mostly entertaining but not informative," Peter said during a reception marking the program's eighth anniversary on Nov. 1 at Hotel Mulia Senayan, Central Jakarta.
"We produced and aired feature stories in Seputar Indonesia because we realized the government did not allow our own production of hard news," said Peter, RCTI's director when the program started production.
Peter "poached" Chrys Kelana, a senior journalist from Kompas daily, to produce Seputar Indonesia. Chrys in turn put together the crew and recruited several of the news anchors.
Seputar Indonesia provided a new and fresh approach to presenting the news, giving newscasters the liberty to improvise. Many, like Desi Anwar, Adolf Posuma, Zsa Zsa Yusharyahya and Dana Iswara, rose to the challenge, and have become popular figures in their own right.
The program became serious competition -- some would say a threat -- for TVRI's 7 p.m. news, which RCTI and all the other private networks are obligated to relay.
Seputar Indonesia's hard-hitting and aggressive news reporting contrasted with that of the state network, which many found dull and often even stale, focused mostly on official announcements and functions.
RCTI turned the legal restriction granting TVRI a monopoly on "hard" news to its advantage. Its reports were presented in a features style apparently permitted by the law.
Each story had a human interest spin. An everyday fire story was presented to expose the human tragedy of the situation.
It is no surprise that Seputar Indonesia has built up a band of loyal followers over the years. Its time slot was also ideal, catching many people just returning home from work.
Seputar Indonesia, with a broadcasting range limited to urban areas, may not be able to overtake TVRI news in the ratings, due to the simple fact the state network reaches nationwide.
But a recent study showed only around 6 percent of all urban dwellers watched TVRI, compared to 47 percent in rural locations.
Seputar Indonesia's popularity has been cut down to size, ironically because of its shining example.
Its successful recipe for finding an audience was copied by all the other private networks. Although none of them has consistently managed to oust Seputar Indonesia's from its top position, they have lured away some of its viewers.
They have done this chiefly through earlier time slots. TPI and ANteve opted for the 5 p.m. broadcast, while SCTV airs at 6 p.m.
Threat
An insider said the greatest threat to Seputar Indonesia did not come from the news programs but from both local and foreign teleserials, known in Indonesian as sinetron, aired at the same time.
Seputar Indonesia's ratings have declined markedly due to several of these shows. The competition is gaining.
According to Survey Research Indonesia, ANteve's Cakrawala, which scored a major scoop with its extensive coverage of last month's Garuda Indonesia air crash in Medan, is overtaking the pioneer, with daily ratings shares of 30-37 percent in the first week of November compared to 20-25 percent for Seputar Indonesia.
Terlanjur Sayang, a dramatic teleserial aired by Indosiar at 6:30 p.m. on weekdays, has also drawn viewers away from Seputar Indonesia. Its rating share never falls below 60 percent.
Seputar Indonesia's success has also meant greater scrutiny by the authorities, and at times even its shareholders, on "unwarranted" news.
RCTI's public relations manager, Eduard Depari, once admitted that RCTI had been warned several times by the government for some segments of political news.
These warnings, he said in January, became guidelines for its coverage of this year's May 29 general election.
"RCTI matures and develops into the current condition through a process... The warnings are part of this process..," Eduard was quoted by the Republika daily.
Communication expert Ashadi Siregar praised the development of news programs by private television stations.
"They give people alternatives to TVRI," he told The Jakarta Post. "I hope their news will not end up like those broadcast by TVRI, which favors only one party, Golkar."
Politics
Given that RCTI's owners are members of Golkar -- President Soeharto's second son, Bambang Trihatmodjo, is the major shareholder -- Seputar Indonesia's political coverage, especially during this year's election, is often perceived to be favoring the dominant political group, although it does not appear as marked as TVRI's slant.
An insider said that rather than risk the accusation of bias, Seputar Indonesia decided to shift its focus away from politics towards criminal stories.
RCTI admits the line between featurized news and hard news has become blurred over the years, especially with increasing competition for ratings.
The 1997 Broadcasting Law, signed by President Soeharto last month, allows private stations to produce hard-news segments, but still requires them to relay TVRI news. RCTI and the other private networks undoubtedly lobbied hard for the privilege during deliberation of the bill.
Even as Seputar Indonesia shifts away from political issues, its popularity has not waned.
Crimes, land appropriation, demonstrations and workers' strikes are now its main daily staples. The power of television often makes its news much more forceful than newspapers.
To mark the eighth anniversary, RCTI published a collection of anecdotes on the way Seputar Indonesia has been run and managed, some of which provide insight into the owners's involvement.
Chrys Kelana recollects friendly advice from Bambang Trihatmodjo, chief commissioner of PT Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia, and his wife, Halimah.
Halimah, commenting on coverage of land appropriation, told Chrys that Seputar Indonesia should not only aim for high ratings, but also heed national goals and promote the country's development.
"Land appropriation should not only be covered from the view of those evicted," Chrys quotes Halimah as saying. "It should be objective. This applies to news on demonstrations, or workers' strikes, because if what was being aired was exaggerated, it could provoke other protests."
Bambang had also expressed concern that too many crime stories in Seputar Indonesia could send the wrong signals to people here and abroad that Indonesia was not a safe place to live, according to the book.
"People from neighboring countries, where RCTI is also accessible, might become afraid to come to Indonesia because of the focus on crimes.
"That is why Seputar's concept should be changed," Bambang reportedly said.