Mapping the Landscape of the Media Industry in Contemporary Indonesia
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Mapping the landscape of the media industry in contemporary Indonesia By: Yanuar Nugroho Dinita Andriani Putri Shita Laksmi Report series: Engaging Media, Empowering Society: Assessing media policy and governance in Indonesia through the lens of citizens’ rights A joint research project of: Funded by: March 2012 This report is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Some rights reserved. Mapping the landscape of the media industry in contemporary Indonesia Published in Indonesia in 2012 by Centre for Innovation Policy and Governance Jl. Lamandau Raya No. 18 Jakarta Selatan 12130 Indonesia Cover designed by Rachmat Affriadi Anggara and Dinita Andriani Putri Except where otherwise noted, content on this report is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License Some rights reserved. How to cite this report: (Nugroho, et al., 2012) - Nugroho, Y., Putri, DA., Laksmi, S. 2012. Mapping the landscape of the media industry in contemporary Indonesia. Report Series. Engaging Media, Empowering Society: Assessing media policy and governance in Indonesia through the lens of citizens’ rights. Research collaboration of Centre for Innovation Policy and Governance and HIVOS Regional Office Southeast Asia, funded by Ford Foundation. Jakarta: CIPG and HIVOS. 1 Acknowledgements The research was funded by the Ford Foundation Indonesia Office and undertaken by the Centre for Innovation Policy and Governance (CIPG), Jakarta and HIVOS Regional Office Southeast Asia Contract No. RO SEA 100371 and RO SEA 100374 Principal Investigator : Dr. Yanuar Nugroho, University of Manchester Co-investigator (CIPG), Coordinator : Mirta Amalia Co-investigator (HIVOS) : Shita Laksmi Researchers (CIPG) : Dinita Andriani Putri Leonardus Kristianto Nugraha Muhammad Fajri Siregar Academic Advisors : Dr. B. Herry-Priyono, STF Driyarkara, Jakarta Dr. Sulfikar Amir, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Throughout the research, the team received huge support and assistance from numerous Indonesian media companies, public policymakers, civil society contacts and partners, and individuals who participated in our study through the survey, interviews, focus group discussions and workshops. We particularly owe thanks and gratitude to Ahmad Suwandi, Ignatius Haryanto, Dandhy Dwi Laksono, Abdul Manan, R. Kristiawan, Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (Alliance of Independent Journalists), Ria Ernunsari, all participants of the CREAME (Critical Research Methodology) training, Combine Resource Institution and Ambar Sari Dewia and Muhammad Amrun (Yogyakarta), our compatriots in community radio stations; Radio Sadewa, JRKY (Yogyakarta Network of Community Radio), and the interns at CIPG: Satrya P. Adhitama and Jauharul Anwar, who have been a big help during the research. The cover of this report was designed by Rachmat Affriadi Anggara and Dinita Putri Andriani. Rebecca Ehata read and corrected the language of this report. 2 List of Abbreviations AJI Aliansi Jurnalis Independen / Alliance of Independent Journalists APJII Asosiasi Penyelenggara Jasa Internet Indonesia/ Indonesian Internet Service Provider Association ATVSI Asosiasi TV Swasta Indonesia/ Association of Indonesian Private TV Broadcasters ATVLI Asosiasi Televisi Lokal Indonesia / Association of Indonesian Local TV Broadcasters BAPEPAM-LK Badan Pengawas Pasar Modal – Lembaga Keuangan / Supervisory Body for Capital Market and Financial Institutions BPS Central Bureau for Statistics BRTI Badan Regulasi Telekomunikasi Indonesia / Indonesia Telecommunication Regulation Body Deppen Departemen Penerangan / Department of Information IPPP Izin Prinsip Penyelenggaraan Penyiaran / Principal Broadcasting Permit ISAI Institut Arus Informasi Indonesia / Institute for the Study of Free Flow Information ISP Internet Service Provider ITU International Telecommunication Union KIDP Koalisi Independen untuk Demokratisasi Penyiaran / Independent Coalition for the Democratisation of Broadcasting KPI Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia / Indonesian Broadcasting Commission KPPU Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha / Commission for the Supervision of Business Competition KUHP Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana / Criminal Code MPPI Masyarakat Pers dan Penyiaran Indonesia / Indonesian Press and Broadcasting Society MASTEL Masyarakat Telematika Indonesia/ Indonesian Telematics Society NAP Network Access Provider NGO Non-governmental organisation OSF Open Society Foundation POP Point of Presence PP Peraturan Pemerintan / Government Regulation Prolegnas Program Legislasi Nasional / National Legislation Program PRSSNI Persatuan Radio Siaran Swasta Nasional Indonesia / Indonesian National Private Radio Union PWI Persatuan Wartawan Indonesia / Indonesian Journalists Union RCTI Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia RRI Radio Republik Indonesia / Radio of the Republic of Indonesia SCTV Surya Citra Televisi Indonesia SIUPP Surat Izin Usaha Penerbitan Pers / Press Publication Enterprise Permit SPS Serikat Penerbit Surat Kabar / Newspaper Publishers Union TVRI Televisi Republik Indonesia / Television of the Republic of Indonesia USO Universal Service Obligation UU Undang-Undang / Law 3 Executive Summary The purpose of this research is to empirically examine the development dynamics of the media industry in Indonesia and how those dynamics characterise the ways in which civil society and citizens’ groups exercise their rights to media. This research aims to portray the landscape of the country’s media industry development and how this has affected citizen participation in the media. 1. The Indonesian media industry has evolved since the late 1980s. The 1998 reformasi (reform) became a turning point after which media businesses started to flourish noticeably. In the past fifteen years, the growth of the media industry in Indonesia has been driven by capital interest, leading to a media oligopoly and the concentration of ownership. 2. Today, twelve large media groups control nearly all of Indonesia’s media channels, including broadcasting, print media and online media. They are MNC Group, Kompas Gramedia Group, Elang Mahkota Teknologi, Visi Media Asia, Jawa Pos Group, Mahaka Media, CT Group, Beritasatu Media Holdings, Media Group, MRA Media, Femina Group, and Tempo Inti Media. MNC Group has three free-to-air television channels – the highest number owned by any media group– with 20 local television networks and 22 radio networks under its subsidiary Sindo Radio. Jawa Pos Group has 171 print media companies including its Radar Group. KOMPAS, Indonesia’s most influential newspaper, has expanded its network to include a content provider by establishing KompasTV, besides the existing 12 radio broadcasters under its subsidiary Sonora Radio Network, and 89 other print media companies. Visi Media Asia has grown into a powerful media group with two terrestrial television channels (ANTV and tvOne) and its quickly- growing online media channel vivanews.com. A new media company under Lippo Group, i.e. Berita Satu Media Holding, has already established an Internet-Protocol Television (IPTV) BeritasatuTV, online media channel beritasatu.com, and additionally owns a number of newspapers and magazines. 3. Concentration in the media industry happens as an inevitable consequence of the capital interest which drives media industry development in the country. The current media oligopoly has endangered citizens’ rights to information as the media industry has become profit-led, and media companies represent a profitable business which can be shaped by the owner’s interests and are thus highly beneficial for those seeking power. This is particularly the case with a number of media owners who are closely connected to politics. Aburizal Bakrie, both the chairman of Golkar — one of the country’s biggest political parties — and owner of Viva Group and Surya Paloh, the founder of a new political party NasDem and owner of Media Group, are two clear examples of this trend. There is an increasingly common perception that these media owners’ interests have endangered citizens’ rights to media, since they are using their media as a political campaign tool to influence public opinion. In short, the media have become a mechanism by which businessmen and politicians convey their interests while gaining profit from the business. 4. Our research finds that media owners turn the media into a simple commodity, with the audience being treated as mere consumers rather than rightful citizens. The 4 concentration of the media industry through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) between media companies has threatened the spirit of ‘diversity of ownership’ and ‘diversity of information’ in the media. Some important M&As have taken place recently: Indosiar was acquired by Elang Mahkota Teknologi, a holding company of SCTV; detik.com was bought out by CT Group, the owner of Trans TV and Trans 7; a number of local television channels were taken over by large groups such as MNC Group with its Sindo TV network and Jawa Pos, which has its own TV network. Laws and regulation seem to be toothless in controlling the concentration of the industry as such. 5. Community media have also been developing, although the development is not as extensive as for the mainstream media since they encounter problems competing with the latter. Community radio is the most popular community medium since community television stumbled upon the limited availability of channels, making it hard to survive. Community radio has developed quite significantly, and has been playing a pivotal role in the dynamics of grassroots communities.