Bagus Budi Tama Saragih, Jakarta – Infotainment TV audiences have switched to the news to watch live broadcasts of the hearings at the House of Representatives' inquiry team on the Bank Century case, raising political awareness among the public, a survey reported.
The recent survey by AGB Nielsen Media Research revealed that the live broadcasts had apparently boosted the percentage of news TV audiences.
According to the study, January's audiences of special news programs including the live broadcast of the inquiry team hearings skyrocketed from 3 percent to 12.6 percent of total viewer share.
In comparison, the inauguration ceremony of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last October only received 10.5 percent of viewer share.
The survey showed that the total duration of news programs in January was 116 hours, 128 percent higher than in the previous month.
Nielsen also found that the adult male audience above 40 years old watched special news TV programs for an average of three hours a day, up 30 percent on December 2009.
J. Kristiadi, a political analyst from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), praised the coverage by the two TV stations airing the inquiry hearings, tvOne and Metro TV.
Apart from the political movements and polemics surrounding the case itself, which involved a bailout that cost the state Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million), the live broadcast has certainly raised the political awareness of the public, he said.
"People who previously had no idea about what the legislature really looked like, or what the legislators they had elected actually did at the House, are now aware: 'Oh, that's how they do hearings at the House'," Kristiadi told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
The shows had also provided the audience with coverage of heated debates among members of the inquiry team.
"Maybe not all of the audience understood the debates. But at least the public are more aware of politics," he said. The debates could also "inform" the public that differences of opinion are healthy and positive.
A member of the Press Council and deputy director of the Science, Aesthetics and Technology (SET) Foundation, Agus Sudibyo, also noted the programs' contribution.
Agus said the media must follow up the improvement in public awareness of politics by "investigating" the case itself and revealing the facts behind the bailout of the ailing bank.
Like earlier scandals, he said, the case might remain a mystery once media attention faded.