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Media owners' interference threat to press freedom

Jakarta Post - October 17, 2016

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Arya Dipa, Jakarta – Press freedom in the country is in relatively good shape, however, the independence of media organizations is threatened by growing interference by certain groups in society as well as media owners, according to a study by the Press Council.

The Press Council also cited poor welfare of journalists as a serious threat to freedom of the press as it could lead media workers to tolerate bribery.

The study conducted in 2015 concluded that the country's press freedom index stood at 62.81, in the category of "relatively free".

In 2014, Reporters Without Borders, an international NGO that conducts research and supports freedom of the press, noted that Indonesia's press freedom index was ranked 138 out of 180 countries surveyed.

In the survey, Indonesia's position was below that of Singapore, which enforces the draconian Internal Security Act.

National research coordinator Antonio Pradjasto said the index difference was very possibly a result of different aspects. The study approached press freedom as an aspect of basic human rights.

"The state has the obligation to respect, protect and fulfill, which is divided into physical and political environments, economics and the legal field," said Antonio in a seminar on the Press Freedom Index at the Press Council building in Jakarta on Thursday afternoon.

The event was attended by 24 coordinators of local researchers representing 24 provinces where the research was conducted, national researchers and information experts.

Antonio said the views of the 303 information experts showed that aspects concerning freedom of association, establishing and operating media companies and freedom from criminalization and intimidation by the state against the media were considered good, similar to the development of citizen journalism, which is able to encourage the growth of democracy.

"However, issues concerning access by vulnerable groups to the media and government awards for press professionalism are still regarded as poor," said Antonio.

The researchers obtained data by interviewing information experts, and local researchers gathered secondary data. Assessment by the information experts was based on their respective perceptions of knowledge and facts related to freedom of the press in each province.

Of the 303 information experts, 81.8 percent were male. They had backgrounds such as lawyers, academics, journalists, general elections and broadcast and information commissioners, NGO staff and members of the police, military and civil service.

The highest score in the research was political freedom (63.51), followed by legal freedom (62.46) and economic freedom (61.12).

Antonio added that the quality of press freedom in Indonesia was overshadowed by problems of media independence from interest groups, intervention by media business owners in editorial decisions, as well as corporate management, including low levels of journalist welfare.

"Moreover, on the other hand, journalists' tolerance of bribery remains high and press ethics are still not strong. Media affiliation with political parties or election candidates could affect media professionalism. In 2015, the Press Council received hundreds of complaints, many of them about ethics violations or inaccuracy and imbalanced reporting," said Anton.

Indonesia Network for Investigative Journalism deputy director Ignatius Haryanto welcomed the Press Council's efforts in depicting the state of press freedom in Indonesia. "Although only 24 of the 34 provinces were involved," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/10/17/media-owners-interference-threat-press-freedom.html.