Ismira Lutfia – Investigative journalism is on the decline in Indonesia, media activists have warned, despite an abundance of issues that require more in-depth coverage.

Ignatius Haryanto, a media analyst, said on Thursday that the decline was due to the reluctance of media organizations to tackle controversial issues.

"Very few media would risk raising, for example, the issue of malpractice by big corporations, or would dare to unveil the scandalous links between businessmen and politicians over certain legislation," he said.

That reluctance, he said, stems from the amount of time and high costs associated with investigative reports, which in some cases might not even see the light of day if they fail to turn up any hard facts.

"Even if they do go on to publish an investigative report, they realize that they are risking a possible lawsuit from the parties implicated in the report," he said.

Ignatius also dismissed the idea that investigative journalism was disappearing because of the poor quality of journalists. "It is a skill that can be learned, and journalists can start by conducting small-scale investigations of an issue in their immediate surroundings," he said.

However, this would require media organizations allowing them to concentrate on a single subject for days on end without filing any other stories, he added.

Ignatius said the lack of investigative reporting in Indonesia was not a question to be addressed by journalists, but by the managements at media organizations.

Journalists across the country have shown a knack for digging deeper, he added, so they should be encouraged to look more closely at often overlooked issues in their own backyards.

Metta Dharmasaputra, an investigative journalist with Tempo magazine, said previously that in-depth reporting required journalists to be honest with themselves if they came up with answers they were not expecting.

He said journalists working on investigative pieces might spend months covering an issue, but in the end find out they could not prove their hypothesis. In those cases, he said, they should be willing to admit their failure and be prepared to ditch their story. "Investigative journalism is characterized by truth and honesty," he said.

Metta also said investigative journalists should be modest when uncovering major scoops.

"It should be built up and conducted with an honest, cool attitude, and there's no need to feel heroic," he said. "That's why they should also be prepared for disappointment if eventually the report does not get published."

Atmakusumah Asmasubrata, a former chairman of the Press Council, said there needed to be changes in the law to help protect media organizations from being sued for publishing investigative reports.

Atmakusumah, who received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for journalism in 2000, said that at the very least, punishments should be limited to fines that the organizations were capable of paying, not imprisonment for news staff.

"It would be difficult to determine who should go to jail, whether it's the reporter, managing editor or the editor in chief," he said. "The implicated parties should not be allowed to pin the blame on specific individuals because the reports are a collective effort."

Ignatius called on seasoned journalists who had worked for media organizations with a strong tradition of running in-depth pieces to spread the "investigative reporting bug" in their new workplaces and nurture the tradition there.

"But it would also depend a lot on whether the management of the new workplace supports that tradition," he said.