Ezra Sihite, Jakarta – Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring on Monday threatened to revoke broadcasting permits for news channels tvOne and MetroTV over allegedly unbalanced coverage of the Indonesian presidential election.

"I will send a warning to both TV stations," Tifatul said. "If they continue... their permit can be revoked."

The two stations, Tifatul said, have become subject to public scrutiny as both have been reported to the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) over their coverage of the presidential election.

Based on calculations by the KPI on May 19 to 25, MetroTV aired presidential candidate Joko Widodo and his running mate Jusuf Kalla 184 times, or 35,577 seconds of screen time, while their opponents Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Hatta Rajasa were covered only 110 times, or 14,561 seconds.

MetroTV is owned by Surya Paloh, who chairs the the National Democratic party, a member of the coalition that backs Joko's presidency bid.

Meanwhile, TvOne, part of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie's VIVA Group, aired Prabowo and Hatta 153 times for a combined 36,561 seconds, while Joko and Kalla were covered only 77 times, or 18,731 seconds. Golkar is part of the coalition of parties behind Prabowo's presidential run.

Tifatul said the ministry would be issuing a strong warning for MetroTV and tvOne based on recommendations by the broadcasting watchdog. "The [KPI's] recommendations will be evaluated. After the evaluation, they could either have their permit revoked or the second option might be to not renew their permit," he said.

According to Tifatul, both stations have admitted their wrongdoings. "Taking sides [in reporting] is prohibited, because the public frequency should not be used for one individual or group's interest. Everyone, including myself, can see that it [the imbalanced reporting] is too much," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/tifatul-threatens-revoke-tv-one-metro-tv-permits-election-bias/