'TVRI' braces to become self-funding corporation

'TVRI' braces to become self-funding corporation

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid's earthshaking move
to liquidate the once powerful ministry of information has not
only sparked controversy but also left a trail of uncertainties.
One of the biggest questions is probably the fate of TVRI, the
state-owned television station often sneered at as the
government's megaphone.

On Monday, head of the State Employees Administration Sofyan
Effendi, who is in charge of handling the closed ministry,
announced a new plan to make TVRI -- along with state radio
station RRI -- a self-funding public broadcasting corporation.

"The change will be beneficial because it will allow them to
compete with private television and radio stations," he said.

Up to now, TVRI, which was set up in 1962 to broadcast the
Asian Games IV held in Jakarta, has been notorious for its
monotonous programming and it is often criticized for becoming
the ruling government's mouthpiece. This image has cost it a lot
in terms of popularity.

People generally watch programs on private TV stations
instead. But the government has made it obligatory for private
stations to relay news and special programs.

Changing TVRI's status, it seems, will not be an easy task
since there are many problems that need to be solved. Yet the
plan to make TVRI a self-funding public corporation has won
praise from both television observer and talk show host Wimar
Witoelar and communication expert Bachtiar Aly.

Wimar sees the plan as a "good start". "But we still have to
see where it goes from here, we have to see further details (of
the plan)," he told The Jakarta Post.

Once the plan is implemented, there should be, among other
things, sustainable funding and the production of selective
programs.

Like renowned foreign stations such as the BBC, he said, TVRI
should not take the commercial factor as the main consideration.
Instead, as a public corporation, it should run programs on
public issues and enlightening programs.

Bachtiar urged the government to clear up TVRI's legal status
as the first thing to be done to make it an independent station.

Under a 1963 presidential decree, TVRI is run by a foundation.

He pointed out that so far, TVRI has fallen short of people's
expectations, dismaying those who pay monthly fees. He urged its
management to compile an accountability report of its
performance.

"All this time, we haven't known where our money went or how
it was being used," Bachtiar told the Post.

TVRI has so far heavily relied on the state budget, public
fees and other sources, such as a share of commercial stations'
advertising revenues.

Based on a 1997 Broadcasting Law, commercial stations have to
submit 12.5 percent of their advertising revenues to TVRI, which
stopped running commercials in 1981 to reduce consumerism and the
negative impact of commercials toward people.

But the regulation did not work as planned. According to the
Ministry of Information's data released last year, the five
private stations owed TVRI Rp 118.58 billion.

Bachtiar said that as a self-funding public corporation, TVRI
should be market-oriented and run commercials like other
stations.

"When it focuses its orientation on market demands, TVRI can
no longer become the government's mouthpiece," he said.

But he warned that the most difficult problem in changing
TVRI's status would be the "mental switch" of its employees.

So far, he said, TVRI's employees were civil servants, who
receive meager financial rewards, much less than those enjoyed by
private commercial TV employees.

"And to become an independent station, TVRI should hire
professionals," he added.

"I believe that TVRI has good human resources ... but it
still needs professionals. It needs entrepreneurs, who know about
business and can sell. If their employees are not of such
quality, the station can give them a golden handshake," Bachtiar
said.

Across the country, TVRI has around 6,000 employees, 14
broadcasting stations, eight production stations, 402
transmitters and reaches 81.52 percent of the country's
population.

A TVRI' employee, Abidin, not his real name, said he welcomed
the planned change of status, but that it was not as important as
his job.

"At the present, the most important thing is that we should
not lose our jobs, that's what really matters," the 39-year-old
man, who has been working with the station for over 10 years,
said.

But he is confident that TVRI can easily change into a
commercial station and be competitive with private stations.

"Remember that unlike private stations' programs, ours can be
seen across the country. It's an advantage other stations don't
have," he said.

With its wider coverage, TVRI may pose a threat to commercial
stations.

But SCTV's news department and public relations director Riza
Primadi feels confident that there will be no problem when TVRI
becomes a self-funding public broadcasting corporation.

"We welcome the decision as long as it means that we are no
longer obliged to broadcast TVRI programs anymore and we don't
pay 12.5 percent (of advertising revenues) to TVRI," Riza said.

He does not see TVRI as posing a serious threat, despite its
wider coverage.

"We have popular programs like the news and sinetron (local
television series). Greater coverage is not the only factor in
the advertiser's mind. Good programs are another."