INDONESIA: Elections put media independence at risk

Seminar speakers discuss the challenges faced by the national media to remain impartial as politicians attempt to buy influence

The Jakarta Post
Friday, June 5, 2009

National media are facing the daunting challenge of keeping their impartiality intact during the election campaign season as candidates and political parties are seeking every avenue to influence the press.

Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI) activist Metta Dharmasaputra told a seminar in Jakarta on Friday that politicians took various approaches, ranging from giving cash to signing lucrative advertisement contracts in exchange for the media's commitment to publishing only good news about a candidate.

"Advertising has always been a grey area. Many media tend to serve one particular presidential candidate who has signed a big advertisement contract," Metta, who is a journalist with Tempo magazine, said.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, if certain media are known for their political trademarks, Metta added.

"People will say there is a "red" TV station, a "green" newspaper and a "blue" magazine," he said.

He agreed that the media could choose their political preference or presidential candidate so long as it was developed through thorough discussion concerning his or her programs.

"Don't be trapped by the hot issues, such as a debate over neoliberalism versus a people-based economy, without attempting to dig deeper to find out what specific impacts they will have on the public," he said.

Another speaker, senior journalist Ramadhan Pohan, said he did not believe the media could be totally independent. "I've been a journalist for 20 years, yet I still doubt whether media independency is crucial or not," the chief editor of Jurnal Nasional newspaper said.

Ramadhan acknowledged his paper's support for incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "We intentionally give a greater share to SBY and his Democratic Party, and [there is] nothing wrong with that as long as we still stand on facts and the truth," he said.

Date Posted: 6/5/2009