TV stations defend violent programs
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite criticism from the public, television stations defend programs that depict violence and sex, saying these shows provide people with information they need to know.
The stations also say they do everything they can to avoid any possible negative impact from these programs.
Senior journalist Karni Ilyas, who heads the news program Liputan 6 at private television station SCTV, said television stations around the world aired showed that depicted violence, crime, murder, rape and riots, because "it is a fact of life and the public has the right to know if there is violence around them".
He said that by broadcasting such shows, TV stations helped people understand dangerous situations and thus avoid such situations.
"Violence mostly happens in public spaces, not in private," he told The Jakarta Post.
Karni did say that TV stations should censor themselves and not show scenes that were unacceptable to viewers. SCTV, for example, has established guidelines in its coverage of victims of violence.
"We ban our cameramen from recording people with head injuries or people who have in some way been mutilated," Karni said. "I think the audience would likely turn off programs that showed this kind of brutality."
SCTV also bans cameramen from showing victims in embarrassing positions, or identifying underage victims of sexual attacks.
There is also a rule for the recording of suspected criminals. Cameramen are not allowed to force suspects to show their faces to the camera.
"It is a kind of commitment among TV crews around the world that we must respect even the rights of criminals," Karni said.
Karni, a former journalist at Tempo weekly magazine, said that during his long career he had dealt with various complaints from suspected criminals and their relatives, and victims.
He said he had been accused of violating the principle of the presumption of innocence by showing the faces of suspects on TV.
"We are journalists, not lawyers. We should not have to wait until the Supreme Court issues a verdict declaring whether someone is guilty before putting his/her face on camera," Karni said.
When it came to covering the tsunami in Aceh, the rules were a little different. SCTV allowed its crews to photograph victims no matter how bad their injuries, in order to provide the public with comprehensive information.
"I saw a positive response from people," Karni said, adding that the graphic pictures of tsunami victims was a main factor behind the world's quick response to the disaster.
A senior cameraman and news editor at TransTV, Hidayat Surya Gautama, said the public should not blame TV stations for airing scenes of violence. He said these programs could help people understand potential threats to their lives and find ways to deal with these situations.
Hidayat, who is responsible for policy and visual strategy at TransTV's news division, has several "dos" and "don'ts" for crews reporting violence. First, the newsroom is banned from airing close-up shots of corpses. Second, the newsroom does not broadcast scenes of brutality.
"I am not against broadcasting violence that is real and newsworthy. We cannot ignore an event where a mob burns houses or villages, can we? But we must stop ourselves from airing pictures of a mob beheading people," he said.
Hidayat also allowed crews to "break" the rules as far as tsunami victims were concerned.
Calling it "hostile environment coverage", Hidayat allowed the newsroom to screen graphic pictures of tsunami victims.
"We cannot accept the notion that by airing graphic pictures of tsunami victims, we prolonged the trauma of the victims. The fact is that thanks to our coverage, many people were able to find certainty about the fates of family members and friends," he said.
He said hundreds of people living outside of the tsunami- devastated Aceh packed the TransTV office, asking the station to replay its video files to try and determine whether their family or friends were among the victims.
"Look at the positive side," he said.