Don't Shoot the Messenger: Policy Challenges Facing the Indonesian Media

"In Indonesia great strides have been taken with respect to media openness since the end of authoritarian rule in 1998. The Indonesian media scene today is vibrant. So why do some media practitioners and observers argue that press freedom is under threat and that the freedom now enjoyed could be in jeopardy and could negatively impact on the progress being made in moving towards a democratic society?"

This media policy report seeks to answer the above-quoted questions by offering an overview of the Indonesian media scene today and the challenges it faces - both from within and due to external factors - as the country continues its political transition. It analyses the main constraints to the development of a media sector that can fulfil its role as a guardian of the public interest and a watchdog on government, and it points to initiatives that could enable it to more effectively do so. [Please note: This is a bilingual report, in Indonesian and English, with the English version at the back. The report was commissioned by the Democratic Reform Support Program (DRSP)/United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Indonesia.]

The first section of the report, "Media Numbers, Content and Ownership: Then and Now", examines the "dramatic changes" in Indonesia's media landscape since Soeharto, the second President of Indonesia, resigned in 1998. [Please note: Per Wikipedia, the English-language press generally uses the spelling "Suharto", but Suharto and his family, as well as the Indonesian government and media, use "Soeharto"]. As author Tessa Piper outlines here, each type of media has developed significantly throughout these 11 years, both in terms of content and numbers, as well as in ownership. Here are some selected trends:

• Print media: Within 2 years, numbers had grown from less than 300 print media in operation in early 1999, to a little under 2,000. Market realities resulted in the majority of them going out of business soon after they were established, but the trend for establishing print media nevertheless continued, and data confirm just over 1,000 print media in operation as of the end of 2008. Furthermore, after years of being closely monitored, "[t]oday, the situation is very different with few, if any, topics off limits and criticism of both local and national governments everyday fare for print media readers." Local publications abound, but their reach remains very limited.
• Radio: Today, it offers listeners a wide variety of content, and ownership is similarly diverse. Of the estimated 2,600 local radio stations across the archipelago - up from around 700 in the Soeharto era - around 480 are community stations. Approximately 60 are stations that are part of the state radio network, Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI), and another 60 are local government-owned, leaving approximately 2,000 privately owned stations. The lifting of onerous restrictions at the start of the reform era enabled for the first time the establishment of an independent radio news agency, KBR68H, which "has allowed tens of millions of Indonesians to obtain information otherwise unavailable to them. Equally important, through its interactive talk shows on a variety of topics related to the country's democratic transition, it has also facilitated the active engagement of people from all walks of life and regardless of their location in debates about the country's development. Today KBR68H is by far the largest radio network in the country - ten times the size of the state broadcaster, RRI - and provides radio content to almost 600 stations nationwide."
• Television: Before May 1998, there were only 6 TV stations, 5 of them private and one the state owned Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI) - all of which were owned by relatives of the then-President or his close associates. Today, at the national level, there are a dozen national terrestrial television channels owned by large companies and a growing number of cable and satellite providers, with digitalisation destined to further expand the choices on offer. Within just 7 years after the ending of prohibition of local television (May 1998), the number of stations had multiplied to 65. Today, local stations number over 100, and ownership is varied. Some offer programmes that incorporate not only local news but also debates on the workings of local government. Viewer participation in such discussions is often encouraged, and some local television stations are also making efforts to investigate corruption, environmental degradation, and other topics of public concern.
• The internet: Whereas in 1998 there were 134,000 subscribers and 512,000 users, by 2007 those numbers had jumped to 2,000,000 and 25,000,000, respectively. Kompas Cyber Media's dedicated internet news portal and the online news leader DeTik retain dominance, but the sector has more recently attracted the attention of 2 conglomerates which have established their own news portals, both of which are gaining ground on their longer-established competitors. Indonesia also boasts a growing number of bloggers, and social networking sites such as Facebook are proving "hugely popular".
  

Despite these promising trends, as the report shows, significant threats and challenges remain, and the need for press and media freedom advocacy is as powerful as ever. For example, "the increasing concentration of ownership is a source of considerable, and warranted, concern to media observers. The increasing homogenization of the media, as well as the growing number of powerful business conglomerates that have entered the market in the post-Soeharto era, both have negative implications for media independence and press freedom. Sadly, efforts by media owners to influence editorial policy, always a concern in any country, are already evident....While censorship by media owners during the democratic transition - primarily those with big business interests - is regarded within the profession as a growing problem, ...it has been rare for specific examples to be documented."

The next section of the report uses legislative examples in order to highlight some of the key concerns about the negative impact of these laws for the country's democratic development and to suggest areas where policy reform is needed to bring them in line with internationally recognised standards regarding freedom of the press and freedom of expression. Here is one excerpt from this section that displays how communication strategies can play a role in addressing the concerns Piper describes: "While clearly there is still some way to go in changing the mindsets of many of those working in various fields of law enforcement, initiatives such as those of LBH Pers and the Press Council are valuable and should be encouraged and facilitated. Engaging the police, prosecutors and judges at a variety of levels in debates about press freedom and the appropriate use of legislation is resulting in a growing sophistication in the debate compared to the not so distant past when there was little or no room for this kind of dialogue between advocacy groups and law enforcement officials. This effort will be further strengthened by an initiative being taken by the Press Council to conduct training on press freedom, the right to reply, etc for all military spokespeople at the district level. This plan has apparently been well received and an annual program in this regard has been discussed."

Piper examines developments such as the Indonesian Press Council, an independent body responsible for regulation of the media and enforcement of a code of ethics, and an independent broadcast regulator, the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission. She then looks at other post-New Order legislation that, while not exclusively focusing on the media, also has a clear impact on media freedom. This includes the Anti-Pornography Law, the State Secrets Law, the Election Law, the Intelligence Law, the Language Law, and the Public Service Law. She also explores the Freedom of Information Law (which she describes as a step in the right direction, but also notes that Article 51 allows for one year imprisonment for unlawful use of public information, thereby threatening the user of the information rather than the person who provided it) and the State Secrets Bill. In addition, Piper discusses Law No. 11 of 2008 on Information and Electronic Transactions, which "contains far reaching and worrying implications that threaten not just media freedom but also freedom of expression."

In the third section, "Advocacy Initiatives Regarding Media Policy", Piper notes that advocacy groups have not been silent in response to the government's attempts to pass the various pieces of legislation she described, and have also been proactive in seeking to eliminate parts of legislation that are seen as being most threatening to media freedom and freedom of expression.

The fourth section explores litigation concerning the media. Dozens of court cases have been brought against the media over the past few years, almost all of them brought by public officials or powerful business people, Piper indicates. She discusses some of the efforts that media freedom advocates have undertaken. She also argues that "Strengthening the capacity of, and expanding, the network of lawyers working on [media law] ...issues would therefore be a very worthwhile investment. The further development of the small network already established of lawyers from around the country with a commitment to press freedom would be invaluable."

In the section titled "Media as a Watchdog on Government: Potential and Limitations", Piper points to challenges such as this one: "Even those that wish to support training of journalists are hampered by the paucity of good quality journalism training programs available in the country. Not surprising then perhaps that a recent survey conducted by a member of the Press Council found that 85% of journalists had never read the journalism code of ethics..."

Piper concludes that, "[f]or Indonesia's transition to democracy to keep moving in a positive direction, the media need to be able to carry out their role without being threatened by policies that inhibit it."