'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."