Ismira Lutfia, Jakarta – The Press Council on Wednesday said it could not find evidence that bourse journalists had blackmailed Krakatau Steel in exchange for shares, but they did find that three of them had engaged in what was described as insider trading.

"There have been ethical breaches and professional misconduct by journalists to use their network and information in their attempts to get the shares of Krakatau Steel," Agus Sudibyo, the Press Council's head of ethics and public complaints, said.

The announcement came two weeks after the Jakarta chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) urged the council to probe allegations that journalists demanded shares from Krakatau Steel in exchange for positive coverage of the company's initial public offering in mid-November.

AJI-Jakarta chairman Wahyu Dhyatmika has said the journalists implicated in the Krakatau scandal had demanded 750,000 shares worth Rp 638 million ($71,000), while another report said they had sought Rp 400 million worth of shares. The Stock Exchange Journalist Forum has denied the allegations, saying they were attempts to defame reporters covering the bourse.

The council said it "so far could not find evidence of blackmailing attempts related to the IPO's coverage by the journalists in question," Agus said. But he said there were reporters who moonlighted as stockbrokers, a conflict of interest that violated Article 6 of the Journalistic Code of Ethics, which says that journalists should not abuse their profession.

He added that the council has summoned all parties involved in the scandal, including the four media organizations whose journalists are implicated in case – Metro TV, online news portal Detik.com, the Kompas daily and the Seputar Indonesia daily.

"The council decided that a journalist of Kompas daily has deliberately attempted to buy the Krakatau Steel shares by using his position and network as a journalist," Agus said, adding that the decision was based on evidence – a BlackBerry messenger conversation between the journalist and the PR firm that handled the Krakatau IPO.

Although the council could not determine if the journalist in question eventually bought the shares, Agus said the attempt already counted as an ethics violation.

Kompas managing editor Budiman Tanuredjo told the Jakarta Globe that the daily "respects the council's decision." He added that the daily has also dismissed the journalist following proof that he had indeed violated the code of ethics. However, Budiman expected that the council would improve its procedure "so that all parties are aware on how the council manage public complaints."

Meanwhile, Seputar Indonesia daily said their reporter had resigned on Nov. 10.

Agus said the council still needs more solid evidence to prove the allegation against a Metro TV journalist, but the news organization has pledged to conduct an internal probe and to issue sanctions if the journalist in question is found guilty.

Bagir Manan, the council chairman, said the council and Metro TV were probing the allegations "cautiously."

Indro Bagus Satrio Utomo, who resigned from news portal Detik.com following the controversy, admitted he had engaged in stock trading and wrote on his Facebook page that he had "no qualms about stating it proud and out loud to everyone."