Making Waves : LOCAL RADIO NETWORK
Stories of Participatory Communication
for Social Change
TITLE: Capacity Building of Local Radio
COUNTRY: Indonesia
FOCUS: Democracy, elections, human rights
PLACE: Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, Bali, Java
BENEFICIARIES: Rural population
PARTNERS: 25 local radio stations, Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW)
FUNDING: UNESCO, DANIDA
MEDIA: Radio, E-mail, Internet
It was a usual morning on the 14th of August 1999 when two uninvited guests came with their Vespa. Without mentioning names or showing their identity, those two men claimed that they're from Police District Office andasked for all the news broadcast by our station, Nikoya. They specifically insisted on having a copy of the news discussion on the "Politic of Violence" held by students of University Ar-Raniry Darussalam Banda Aceh where the chief of Aceh District Police and the commander of Aceh District Military were the speakers.
We refused to give them the copy even though they said it was only for monitoring. In the end we compromised since we remembered that a few months ago two military trucks with the personnel fully armed, had been parked in front of our station, watching us 24 hours per day. We had to"cool down" and stop broadcasting the news. But people called and came to the station asking "why did we stop broadcasting the news". We had not realised people's support until they came to us to discuss the situation and their expectation to be able to listen the true voices of Acehnese. They like our coverage on NGOs, students, and even on the two extremes: Indonesian Military and Free Aceh Movement.
We live a slippery and tricky situation because one of the focal groups in this conflict always disagrees with our news. Some also try to take advantage of the situation; recently several visitors claimed that they were from Free Aceh Movement and asked five million Rupiah from the station to support their movement. It's a very big amount of money for us since there is no income from advertisement. It is also an intimidating situation if we didn't give the money.
On the other hand, the Indonesian military is also ready with their weapons. Meanwhile, we stay put with these different voices and serve it to the public and let them choose since it is their right to determine what they want to be in the future. So far, we know that these millions of innocent people outside the organisations and institutions only have simple expectations: peace and safety.
Reported by Ade Grande, UNESCO consultant.
The "Capacity Building of Local Radio" a UNESCO project funded by the Danish Government, was initiated in early 1999, with a target of strengthening twenty local provincial radio stations in the field reporting capacity, through the provision of equipment and training.
For the first phase of the project, a comprehensive report on local radio stations in the preselected areas was prepared by The Institute of Studies for Free Flow of Information (ISAI). The final selection was done with the guidance of UNESCO. Twenty-five stations have been integrated into the network, all of them benefiting from the same training opportunities, as well as grants and new equipment.
In the isolated islands of Maluku, the stations selected were Istana Bahana Swara and Gema Hikmah; in South Sulawesi: Suara Mesra, Suara Daya Indah, SP FM, and Suara Sawerigading; up north of Indonesia, in Aceh: Nikoya, Gipsi and Adyemaja; in West Kalimantan: Swara Dermaga Ria; in Bali: Guntur and Balisa; in Yogyakarta: Persatuan; in East Java: Bass, Citrawanodya and Andalus; in Central Java: Rona Puspita, Pragola and Ria Female.
Independent, committed local radio stations are carefully chosen under the following criteria:
- These are devoid of sectarian political interests
- Have a wide representation and penetration in different provinces
- Maintain editorial readiness and commitment to catalyse democracy and good governance in the provinces.
Training is the centrepiece of the networking strategy. Journalists from all local stations have been trained in the production of local programmes that foster the democratic process, through participatory approaches. A specific seminar, "Local Media and Democratic Election", was organised in Jakarta for broadcasters of all selected stations prior to the Indonesian general elections.
Other than the workshops and seminars, the project has produced a handbook in Bahasa Indonesia entitled "Guidelines for Election Coverage, originally prepared by the International Federation of Journalists".
An equipment package containing three field recorders, two sets of four-track studios, one portable studio including four microphones, and two computers (one multimedia) is provided to each station. This equipment allows the small local radio stations to face any contingency while recording in rural areas or producing complex live-broadcasts.
The multimedia computer is a key item in terms of facilitating networking among the various stations; it can be used for down loading information from the Internet, as well as for communicating through e-mail. The computer also has capacity for digital sound editing of short inserts, jingles and music. A financial grant of US$2,000 allows each station to employ two additional producers and to ensure Internet connectivity through a local service provider.
The creation of an Internet-based network among participating radio stations is the most innovative aspect of the project. The linking of radio stations across Indonesia is a very powerful tool for allowing access to audio broadcasting materials particularly concerning democracy and mutual support in the development of field reporting capacity.
Taking into account Indonesia's geographical particularities, radio is the only medium that can reach remote areas. Moreover, Indonesians have a strong, deeply rooted oral tradition and illiteracy levels remain high, particularly in rural settings. With some 769 private commercial stations spread over the archipelago of Indonesia, radio represents the only accessible medium and source of information for a large part of the population. However, during the 32-year-long regime of Suharto, radio stations were not allowed to broadcast local news. It was compulsory for them to broadcast the news bulletins provided by the official broadcasting system (RRI).
The law of Indonesian broadcasting still restricts community radio. Every station has to be a private station with clear company legal status. Most rural radio stations in Indonesia are small structures with modest and often outdated equipment. Computer technology was rarely used except for administration. Broadcasters were not trained journalists, and had no responsibility to produce local news. The lack of qualified human resources is still a major issue.
Radio stations that during decades had only aired music and entertainment programmes, have suddenly become information and education tools, capable of producing their own news on national issues. This had an enormous importance before the 1999 elections. For the first time people were offered programming that promoted participation and democracy; for the first time small local stations stood up against censorship and military control.
The networking of radio stations offers the Indonesian population new possibilities for up-to-date information on national topics. The exchange of news among the stations is the most dynamic activity. Each station sends its local news over the network while all stations can freely choose which news to broadcast from all over Indonesia. The exchange of local news is an idea that came from the stations themselves during a project seminar.
The Internet connection has given the stations more sources of information. They now usually broadcast news before other stations. Notable changes are seen in programming. The percentage of information programmes such as news and talk shows are getting broader.
The mere existence of a local radio station in remote areas of Indonesia provides each isolated community with a channel to inform them on local events and to communicate with each other, as if radio were a substitute for the post office. Radio Dermaga in Sanggau (West Kalimantan), for example, is the only station covering an area of 50 kilometres. People use the radio to convene meetings, to send invitations to a marriage, to announce cultural events, and to offer jobs. Radio Citrawanodya (East Java), an AM station covering an area of 70 square kilometres, has been instrumental in denouncing corruption during the elections of the village's head. All three stations in Aceh (Radio Gipsi, Radio Nikoya and Radio Adyemaja) make an effort to broadcast updated information on local political events, often ignored or censored on the national network.
Early in the year 2000 the local radio network embarked on a countrywide campaign against corruption. Each station produces and runs its own programmes. Apart from a short jingle and some ideas, UNESCO didn't take any leadership. Every station managed to run the campaign independently and with its own resources.
The objective of the "Capacity Building of Local Radio" project is to develop human and technical capacity of selected radio stations in rural Indonesia and thereby to enable these radio stations to effectively contribute to the process of national development, good governance, and democracy.
Training is from the methodological point-of-view, one of the key aspects of UNESCO support to the 25 local radio stations that are part of the network. The initial assessment of the stations revealed that they lacked staff with a journalistic background. The successive workshops that were held during 1998 and 1999 in Banda Aceh, Ujung Pandang and Malang, had the objective of providing the basic skills in journalism, news programming and contents from the perspective of the democratic process that Indonesia was going through at that time.
No doubt the other key aspect is the conversion of the individual radio stations to an Internet-based network. Daily contact through e-mail, and daily exchanges of news items among the 25 stations contributed to building a sense of a network in search of common objectives, striving to take on the leadership as examples of a democratic medium, in a country much too accustomed to vertical and authoritarian communication practices.
Political changes in Indonesia after the fall of Suharto had an impact on liberalisation of media. In spite of this process of democratisation, censorship still haunts some of the local radio stations, particularly in those provinces of Indonesia that have been on the frontline of social upheaval. In Aceh, for example, late in 1999, police were putting pressure on Nikoya Radio to submit a copy of the "news" before it's broadcast.
On a technical note, the quality of phone connectivity is so low, it takes hours to log in and often the connection is suddenly cut. In most areas there is only one Internet provider. Therefore, every time the service is down the stations are not able to send or receive news via the Internet. Internet providers may even voluntarily shut down access to the Internet for political reasons, as has happened in Aceh in times of political unrest.
A crucial challenge, that needs to be carefully assessed, deals with sustainability of the network. The Internet provides tremendous opportunity but the cost is high. Because of the low quality of telephone landlines, a longer on-line time is needed, thus increasing costs even further. Some stations are analysing the possibility of diversifying their income sources through activities such as desktop publishing and advertising.
Most information for this chapter was provided through personal and e-mail exchanges with Ade Grande, UNESCO Consultant.
"Democracy on Air: Building Expertise of Local Radio" in UNESCO Jakarta Office News, Issue No. 2/1999.
Local Radio Meeting Point Local Radio Meeting Point.
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