TV team strive to put the bite in news

By Edith Hartanto

JAKARTA (JP): Television journalism is a relatively new profession here, essentially ushered in with the advent of five private TV stations since 1989. While print media employees often needle TV crews and say they have lot less to worry about with only a few minutes devoted to news items, behind-the-screen anecdotes reveal the hectic reality.

Those few minutes of reporting must be backed by engaging pictures, valid sources and objectivity. Reporters tell of the hard but elementary lessons in learning the ropes.

Hakim Poerba of Indosiar, 37, admits he was at first typical of those starting their careers from print media: He was used to working alone.

One day he was covering the lawsuit of ousted Indonesian Democratic Party leader Megawati Soekarnoputri against her rival Soerjadi at the Central Jakarta District Court.

"I met my old friends. I was busy gathering materials and at noon I realized I had lost my cameraman." Back at the office, colleagues laughed at him. "From then on, I learned that, like it or not, the reporter and the cameraman are a team."

Others describe how a TV reporter is only as good as his equipment.

Bob Wardhana of SCTV forgot his mike when he was hurrying to cover a preview of Schlinder's List at the Teater Utan Kayu in East Jakarta.

Once, when Bob was scheduled to do a story on PAM Jaya, the city-owned water company, he arrived to find the cameraman had forgotten the video tape.

"The official said he only had five minutes. It was impossible for us to go back to the office to get the tape. At the end, we missed the story. That's what distinguishes TV from print media. TV needs the moment. If you miss it, you lose it."

Once a source has agreed to be on television, he or she is probably aware that the footage will be substantially edited. But there are times when extenuating circumstances mean the material will never make it to the small screen.

Eko Saputra, an ANteve cameraman, was recording an interview when suddenly the battery ran out. "I signaled to the reporter. But we kept on pretending to record it as we did not want to upset the source."

Waiting with the heavy camera is the lousiest part of the job, he said. "It has to stick with me like glue."

But the flip side is worse. Recently, a very unfortunate cameraman who left his equipment for a minute in his car returned to find it had vanished.

Chickenpox

And, yes, looks are important. Makroen Sanjaya, chief editor of SCTV's crime and legal news department, said he thought his career was over when he suffered from a bout of chicken pox for four months.

"I went from doctors to healers to get rid of the pockmarks left all over my body, especially my face. Well, I was scolded by my doctor because I kept on working and refused to get some rest."

TV van drivers play their own essential role in getting the crew to the story on time.

The then national police chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo frequently teased TV journalists, saying that SCTV and ANteve crews had among the highest number of traffic violations in the city.

"Well, we can't help it, sometimes we have to beat congestion to reach the scene on time," quipped Irwansyah from SCTV.

Deden Kuswondo of RCTI cites a memorable experience when covering a story in 1994 about the Marines' trip to Pantai Swarangan, South Kalimantan.

"Yaskur (the cameraman) and I had sailed in the Teluk Banten armored ship for eight days. We ate vegetables every day... and the strange thing was that the meal was always bland."

Curious, Deden looked for the kitchen. "When I opened the door, I saw a group of muscular privates chopping the vegetables with machetes on planks of wood.

"They were surprised to see me and I was also stunned. A few moments later they barked 'Get lost!', and scared me off, waving the machetes. Well, no wonder the meal was tasteless."

Despite the stress and snafus, TV crews say the job is thrilling. "At least in this profession we're always young at heart," said Poerba.