Untrammeled media the price of freedom

Untrammeled media the price of freedom

The Nation
Asia News Network
Bangkok

When things go wrong, politicians have the tendency to shoot
the messenger first. And that is something that happens not only
here but also in countries where politicians have little
tolerance for public scrutiny.

But that doesn't always mean that journalists themselves are
blameless. Indonesia is probably a good example of how the media
is dealing with the new challenge that came with the end of the
Soeharto era and learning to dodge the bullets. Warief Djajanto
Basorie, a Jakarta-based columnist, reflected on the present
state of the media in Indonesia during a forum on Asian
journalism organized by the Center for Media and Freedom
Responsibility in Bangkok last week.

The Indonesian media, shackled for almost three decades under
the dictatorial rule of Soeharto, is now considered to be the
most free-wheeling in Southeast Asia. While it serves
Indonesians' thirst for information during the country's most
uncertain political period, its exercise of its new-found freedom
has in the process earned the ire of politicians -- and in some
cases raised public eyebrows.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri lent weight to the feelings
against the Indonesia media recently when she complained to the
Press Council that some were disseminating "disproportionate and
unbalanced" reports and urged the media to "help create an
atmosphere conducive" to efforts to resolve regional conflicts.

Her attitude toward the media was earlier echoed by a group of
lawmakers who wanted to put a curb on what they described as "the
yellow press", which was spreading "pornography and misleading
stories" and constituted "a menace to the future generation".

Unaccustomed to scrutiny by the media, the lawmakers accused
journalists of being "excessive with provocative reporting that
is tantamount to character assassination". They launched a move
to amend the Press Act so that journalists found guilty of
"disparaging" the government would be liable to a maximum jail
term of seven years.

Basorie noted that both the president and the lawmakers had an
axe to grind with the Indonesian media. While the media initially
felt sympathy for Megawati for the myriad deep-rooted economic
and other problems she had to face, it was quick to give her a
thumbs-down.

The Jakarta Post, for example, noted in an editorial that
Megawati's "first 100 days in office were more noteworthy for
things that did not take place than for what did". It also
strongly questioned her leadership, which it said was "a crucial
element" that was missing.

Another newspaper, Kompas, conducted an opinion poll earlier
this year and found that as many as 75 percent of the people
polled said they were not happy with Megawati's economic
performance. It's therefore rather understandable that the
president has found the Indonesian media to be so hostile.

Other lawmakers have not been spared the media onslaught.
Basorie noted that lawmakers campaigning for a tougher press law
were mostly those who have become subject to media scrutiny. Some
have had their personal lives laid bare, while others were
embarrassed by disclosures that they often skipped parliamentary
meetings.

However, the media itself is not without fault. The new-found
press freedom has given birth to dozens of new publications whose
primary concern is circulation more than upholding journalistic
ethics. Excesses and even abuses of press freedom have become
common and are providing the conservative political elite with
ammunition to seek a return to a controlled press.

Thailand went through a similar experience in the aftermath of
the political uprising which overthrew the dictatorial Thanom
regime in 1973. So did the Philippines following the ouster of
President Marcos in 1986. It's only natural that in a society
where freedom of expression was suppressed for so long. A sudden
outburst of opinion is something that can be expected once the
lid is removed.

Curtailing a free press is definitely not the way to make the
media more professional or responsible, as The Jakarta Post put
it so succinctly in its editorial on the question of Good Press,
Bad Press: "In a free press regime, you are bound to get both
good and bad press.

But in a controlled press regime, you are only going to get a
bad press, a press that indulges in lies, or half-truths, because
it is prevented from telling the whole truth."

Like their Thai counterparts during a period of political
transition, Indonesian journalists are slowly learning to
distinguish between professionalism and sensationalism. Bosarie
emphasizes the challenges facing the Indonesian media by quoting
Rosihan Anwar, one of the country's most respected media men, who
once said that journalists "must make a choice between market
journalism and duty journalism".

"Market journalism serves what the public wants. Duty
journalism is journalism that serves what the public needs."