Basten Gokkon, Jakarta – With a next round of political campaigning due for the presidential election, experts have called for stricter regulations to ensure fairness in televised political coverage, emphasizing the need to observe high journalistic standards.
Television remains top of the heap for the sheer number of people it serves and for the effectiveness of getting the message across, observers say.
"Compared to radio and newspaper, television's strength is in its living image – gestures and facial expressions – which can manipulate the public," Daniel Sparringa, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's special adviser for political communications, said during a discussion on Wednesday.
"Television has that magic, compared with radio and newspapers, in creating opinions and shaping one's political views. It [still] is the most important media platform in political campaigns," he said.
Some 91.7 percent of all Indonesians over the age of 10 watched television in 2012, compared to 18.6 percent who listened to radio and 17.7 percent who read newspapers and magazines, according to data by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
"However, television can be terrifying if it falls into the hands of people who put their political interests above that of the public," Daniel continued.
He said television also becomes problematic "if it shares one point of view in delivering news, instead of varied views... If it is no longer about value but money... and if it is no longer about equality, but domination."
In Indonesia, a number of free-to-air television channels are owned by politicians, several of whom are presidential or vice presidential hopefuls.
Metro TV, the leading news channel, is part of the media empire of Surya Paloh, founder and chairman of the National Democrat Party (NasDem). Metro typically features coverage of Surya's achievements, or news about the party he founded.
TVOne, another news channel, and its affiliated channel ANTV are controlled by the family of Aburizal Bakrie, chairman of Golkar Party and the second-largest party's presidential candidate.
The country's most popular general entertainment TV channels – RCTI, Global TV and MNC TV – and leading pay TV operator Indovision – are owned by Hary Tanoesoedibjo, one of Indonesia's wealthiest individuals and a vice presidential candidate for the People's Conscience Party (Hanura).
However, some political and media commentators believe the unabashed partisanship of these various TV channels actually backfires against their owner's political parties, or at least is of limited value.
"Intensive political advertising only introduces the party. It does not necessarily make people vote for them," Yunarto Wijaya, a political expert from think tank Charta Politika, said on Wednesday.
In any case, the pressure is on for greater oversight of TV broadcasting, says Cecep Hidayat, a political analyst at the University of Indonesia. "In the context of democracy, media is the fourth pillar, besides the other three, namely executive, legislative, and judicial," Cecep said.
Numerous complaints have already been filed with the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) about political ads on TV deemed to be in violation of campaign rules, according to Yunarto.
"There should be a stricter regulation which minimizes violations, restricting politicians from abusing media for their personal interests," Daniel said.
"For example, if they [already] own a newspaper and want to own a TV station, their share ownership has to be regulated," Daniel said of entrepreneurs-turned-politicians. "Save the media from the domination of capital and political interests."
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/frustration-grows-party-political-biased-tv-coverage/