Jakarta – As online and multimedia journalism spreads across the globe, promising greater freedom and wider readership for media outlets, the specter of censorship and violence against journalists remain, a recent discussion in Jakarta has concluded.

"The number of violations against the rights of journalists is increasing every year [in Indonesia]," said Ezki Suyanto of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), during last week's launch of book Uninhibited, Robust and Wide-Open by Lee Bollinger, president of Columbia University.

She highlighted the February 2009 murder of a journalist from Radar Bali, A. A. Narendra Prabangsa, who was investigating corruption involving a government official.

Ezki said current regulations ran counter to the country's constitution that advocates freedom of expression and the right to obtain and distribute information. Ezki cited the Information and Electronic Transaction and Anti-Pornography Law as examples.

"Indonesian journalists are now facing more regulations than they would have back in 1910-1930, during the colonial era," said Andreas Harsono of Pantau Foundation.

"It is essential for the press to be uninhibited, robust and wide-open, including in Indonesia," said Endy Bayuni, chief editor of The Jakarta Post, a speaker at the discussion.

Another issue raised during the discussion was media ownership and its affect on the media's credibility. A number of large business groups or foundations in Indonesia either own or directly run media outlets.

Endy said this situation meant that journalists faced two battles; the first with the government to ensure press freedom, and the second with the vested interests of media owners to ensure the integrity of reportage.

"There is much conflict of interest in the media due to ownership issues. TV One [owned by the chairman of the Golkar Party] features heavy coverage of Golkar, while Metro TV frequently airs reports on Lapindo [mudflow disaster] and the tax problems faced by a rival business group," said Tjipta Lesmana, of Pelita Harapan University.

Andreas also pointed out the centralization of media ownership in Java as another problem. Most Indonesian newspapers are centered in either the capital city of Jakarta or Surabaya, East Java. In his book, Bollinger argues globalization intensifies the need for the press to remain free and independent so that it could report accurately on the world, from the world, to the world.