The Threat Is from Inside FA.Indd 1 8/24/2010 11:33:25 AM the Threat from Within 2010 Annual Report of the Alliance of Independent Journalists
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CS SE Announce-komps325x270 (2).Page 1 6/1/10 18:10:24 The Threat isfrom InsideFA.indd 1 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 8/24/2010 11:33:25 AM The Threat from Within 2010 Annual Report of the Alliance of Independent Journalists The Threat is from Inside FA.indd 1 8/24/2010 11:33:25 AM The Threat from Within 2010 Annual Report of the Alliance of Independent Journalists Writer: Abdul Manan Editor: Andrew Thornley Cover dan Lay Out: J!DSG, www.jabrik.com Publisher: The Alliance of Independent Journalists Jl. Kembang Raya No. 6 Kwitang Senen Jakarta Pusat 10420 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ajiindonesia.org Cetakan: Jakarta, Agustus 2010 The Threat is from Inside FA.indd 2 8/24/2010 11:33:25 AM Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter I: Is it the Beginning of a Harsh Winter for Media Workers? ................................................. 7 A Short History of Media Workers Unions ................................................................................................................... 8 Indosiar Case and Subsequent Demonstration ............................................................................................................. 9 Union Busting of Suara Pembaruan ...................................................................................................11 Chapter II: Not Dark, But Still A Blur .................................................................................................... 13 Molotov Terror against Media ................................................................................................................................... 17 The Murder of Prabangsa and the ‘New’ Deadliest Country ....................................................................................... 19 Jakarta’s Fluctuating Statistics and Red Report Card .................................................................................................. 21 2010 as a Good Beginning? .................................................................................................................................... 24 Seven Media and the News of a Gambling Case ...................................................................................................... 26 Chapter III: Freed from the Storm of Crisis ......................................................................................... 35 Advertising and the Optimism to Look at the Future .................................................................................................. 36 The increasing number of media which are not as fast as circulation ......................................................................... 40 The Trend of TV, Radio, and Internet Advertising......................................................................................................... 42 Chapter IV: The Portrait of Indonesian Press Ethics ............................................................................ 45 Infotainment and “its divorce” with Journalism ......................................................................................................... 46 Two interpretations on the rise of complaints to the Press Council ............................................................................. 49 Annex Cases of Violance against Journalists (2009) ............................................................................................................. 53 Journalists Who Died and are Missing in Indonesia (1996-2010) .............................................................................. 59 Address the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) ................................................................................................ 61 The Threat is from Inside FA.indd 3 8/24/2010 11:33:25 AM Tabel Contents Table 2.1 Supporting Environment for Press Freedom ............................................................................................. 15 Table 2.2 Anatomy of 2009 Violence Cases ............................................................................................................ 22 Table 2.3 The Ranking of Red Categorized Provinces (2007-2009) .......................................................................... 23 Table 3.1 Media Advertising Revenue (2005-2010)................................................................................................. 36 Table 3.2 The Advertising Revenue in the First Quarter of 1999 to 2010 ................................................................. 38 Table 3.3 The Advertising Revenue in First Quarter of 2010 Compared to the Previous Quarter ............................... 38 Table 3.4 Main Media Advertising Revenue (newspaper, magazine, television, internet, outdoor media) in US$ Million ............................................... 39 Table 3.5 Global advertising expenditure by medium US$ million, current prices Currency conversion at 2007 average rates ........................................................................ 40 Table 3.6 Share of Total Advertising expenditure by Medium 2006-2010 (%) .......................................................... 40 Table 3.7 The Growth of Number of Media and Circulation (2008 – 2010) ............................................................. 41 Table 3.8 10 biggest cities based on circulation figures (2010) ................................................................................ 41 Table 3.9 Media statistics ....................................................................................................................................... 42 Table 3.10 The Growth of Internet Users in Indonesia (2000-2010)........................................................................... 44 Table 4.1 Public Complaints to the Press Council (2007-2009)................................................................................ 50 The Threat is from Inside FA.indd 4 8/24/2010 11:33:25 AM Introduction THE world of journalism in Indonesia today has become sharper in facing the contradiction of freedom and social responsibility. In the midst of the victory of press freedom over the last decade, we are witnessing a sharp focus on the “responsibility” of media ethics as a means of freedom of expression. From 442 complaints to the Press Council in 2009, written or oral, the matter of violation of ethics has become important. Sensational news coverage, which twists the facts, as well as the weakness in accuracy of media reports, have become of serious note for the Press Council. This includes the blurring of the line between “fact” and “gossip” in a number of mass media products. During ten years of reform, a large opportunity has been open for anyone establishing media and conducting journalistic work. Thus, we see that the media industry is growing, the way of communication has become more advanced, and that competition also seems more exciting. On the other side, the attitude of the profit-orientated media industry has given journalism a bad reputation. We see how competition for ratings and circulation indeed threaten the heart of the media: credibility. Needless to say, it is not a problem that competition increases circulation, ratings, or visits. The problem is: has competition resulted in the increase of journalism quality? Media businesses are greedy for profit, and justify their various ways with “as long as it sells”, which can end with the gambling of public trust in those media. If credibility is at stake, then qualified journalism should be the answer. This 2010 AJI Annual Report, which is published each year to coincide with the celebration of the organization’s birth, on August 7, tries to record the dynamics of the national press. From August 2009 until the middle of 2010, AJI has noted many important things. Although Indonesia is often praised as having the best press freedom in South East Asia, our ranking is still low. The ranking of press freedom in Indonesia, for example, is still decreasing in 2010. Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF), a nonprofit institution based in Paris, ranked Indonesia 57th in 2002, which then greatly decreased to 117th (in 2004). Up until 2010, Indonesia cannot reach the top 100 again. The decreasing of Indonesia’s position, according to RSF, is because the Indonesian 5 The Threat is from Inside FA.indd 5 8/24/2010 11:33:25 AM THE THReat FROM WITHIN government still uses “outdated laws” against the press. In South East Asia today, Indonesia’s ranking is below Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste. Following, in terms of ranking, are Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Laos, and Burma. In 2009, for example, we almost got “a nightmare” should the State Secrets Bill have been endorsed by the DPR. That is because the Bill threatens room for openness, which is guaranteed by the Law on the Openness of Public Information. Moreover, cases of defamation and violence against journalists are still stuck in the last year. On the other hand, we also see how Indonesia is affected by global crises. Their affects have not been as dramatic as in America or Europe. The print media in Indonesia still can survive. Media business statistics in 2007-2010 showed that there were no negative symptoms in the national newspaper industry, although there was no significant leap in circulation. Serious concern needs to be directed to the dramatic growth of social media through