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A History of Australian Journalism in Indonesia Ross Tapsell University of Wollongong

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A History of Australian Journalism in Indonesia Ross Tapsell University of Wollongong University of Wollongong Thesis Collections University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Year A history of Australian journalism in Indonesia Ross Tapsell University of Wollongong Tapsell, Ross, A history of Australian journalism in Indonesia, PhD thesis, School of History and Politics, University of Wollongong, 2009. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/028 This paper is posted at Research Online. A HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN JOURNALISM IN INDONESIA A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree Doctor of Philosophy from UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG by ROSS TAPSELL B.A. (Honours) School of History and Politics Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies Faculty of Arts 2009 ii CERTIFICATION: I, Ross Tapsell, declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Faculty of Arts, School of History and Politics, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Ross Tapsell 22 May, 2009 iii CONTENTS Thesis Certification……………………………………………………………………...ii Abbreviations……..…………………………………………………………………….vi Abstract………………………………………………………………………………...vii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………viii Ethics Clearance………………………………………………………………………...ix I ~ Introduction ………………………………………………………………..1 1.1. The journalist as ‘hero and myth-maker’………………………………..1 1.1.1. Reaction to the ‘hero and myth-maker’ literature………………...6 1.2. Australian journalism in Indonesia……………………………………...8 1.2.1. Cultural differences……..………………………………………11 1.2.2. Political-cultural differences…………………………………....13 1.3. Writing ‘A History of Australian Journalism in Indonesia’…………..17 1.3.1. Conclusion……………………………………………………….19 II ~ Identifying the Foreign Correspondents………………………33 2.1. Background and personal identity………………………………………34 2.2. The shock of arrival……………………………………………………....39 2.3. Performing the role of journalist………………………………………..45 2.3.2. War Correspondents: 1945-1949………………………………...46 2.3.3. The Asia Hand: 1950-1963………………………………………53 2.3.4. The Young Professional: 1965-1975…………………………….57 2.3.5. The Outsiders: The legacy of the Balibo Five…………………...60 2.3.6. The Insider: The Jenkins Affair…………………………………66 2.3.7. The Contemporary Correspondent: The Competitor……………71 2.4. Performing the role of ‘truth-seeker’ and ‘objective’ journalist……...74 III ~ Local Staff…………………………………………………………………79 3.1. Recognition of local staff…………………………………………………80 3.2. Local staff professional practice…………………………………………84 3.2.1. Role in the reporting process…………………………………….86 3.2.2. A hierarchical role……………………………………………….91 3.3. Local staff and Indonesian officials…………………………………….96 3.3.1. Right or wrong it’s my country?..................................................99 iv 3.3.2. Controls through political affiliation…………………………..105 3.4. Conclusion……………………………………………………………….111 IV ~ Indonesian Government Influences…………………………..114 4.1. Indonesian Government controls over its press: A brief outline…….115 4.1.1. Journalists are to build and develop the nation…………………121 4.1.2. Australian journalists and the legacy of Balibo………………...127 4.2. Methods used by the Indonesian Government to influence Australian journalists……………………………………………………………………132 4.2.1. Visas……………………………………………………………133 4.2.2. Blacklists and bans……………………………………………..138 4.2.3. Persuasion………………………………………………………142 4.2.4. Intimidation, violence and deaths………………………………145 4.4. Australian journalists’ responses to these influences…………………154 V ~ Australian Government Influences……………………………..163 5.1. Friendly neighbours or a free press……………………………………166 5.2. Australian Government attempts to influence journalists…………...175 5.2.1. The end of Sukarno…………………………………………….175 5.2.2. East Timor and Government complicity……………………….181 5.2.3. An increasing bureaucracy……………………………………..184 5.3. Conclusion: The Australian media as a problem to be rectified……..188 VI ~ Sources and Contacts………………………………………………..193 6.1. Early correspondence with English-speaking elites…………………..195 6.2. The President as the highest source……………………………………200 6.2.1. Sukarno as ‘Indonesia’…………………………………………200 6.2.2. News sources and the Indonesian killings of 1965-66…………205 6.2.3. Still seeking the President’s company………………………….210 6.2. New Order sources and contacts……………………………………….213 6.3.1. CSIS and ‘second track diplomacy’……………………………215 6.3.2. The dangers of using CSIS and ‘second track diplomacy’……..219 6.4. Conclusion: moving beyond hierarchical sources…………………….223 VII ~ New Technologies and Reporting……………………………..228 7.1. Early technology and editorial direction………………………………230 v 7.1.1. Early ‘primitive’ technology…………………………………...230 7.1.2. Contact with Australia………………………………………….235 7.2. Contemporary newsgathering………………………………………….239 7.2.1. Live television and radio reporting……………………………..240 7.2.2. The Internet……………………………….…………………….247 7.2.3. Sabotaged by our own technology?.............................................249 7.3. Parachute journalism and the Schapelle Corby phenomenon……….256 . VIII ~ Conclusion…………………………………………………………….266 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………276 Abbreviations AP – Associated Press (United States) AAP – Australian Associated Press ABC – Australian Broadcasting Commission AFP – Agence France Presse AFR – Australian Financial Review AJA – Australian Journalists’ Association vi ANU - Australian National University ASIO – Australian Security Intelligence Organisation BAKIN – Indonesian Intelligence BBC – British Broadcasting Commission CNN – Cable News Network CSIS – Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta. DEPLU – Department of Foreign Affairs, Indonesian Government DFAT – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Government DSD – Defence Signal Division (now Directorate), Australian Government FRETILIN - Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente/Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor NGO – Non-Government Organisation OPSUS – Indonesian Military Special Forces RA – Radio Australia SMH or Herald – The Sydney Morning Herald UN – The United Nations US – The United States of America Abstract This thesis examines the changing professional practice of Australian journalists since they began reporting in Indonesia from 1945. Existing literature on the Australian media in Indonesia has emphasised the problem of biased and troublesome Australian journalists who have deliberately caused bilateral relations disturbances between Australia and Indonesia. It is argued that the existing literature overstates the agency of Australian journalists, and downplays the attitudes and roles of governments and news forces in the shaping of journalists’ professional practice. This thesis will show how Australian journalists and their Indonesian staff have attempted to report what they saw as the ‘truth’ from the archipelago, yet have been subjected to numerous pressures and vii constraints that hinders their professional practice and limits their autonomy. In particular, Indonesian staff working for Australian news agencies have been subjected to numerous pressures from a hierarchical system of newsgathering and from their own government. The Indonesian Government and military have attempted to control the flow of news through often crude and violent tactics to hinder journalists’ professional practice. The Australian Government, which supports the notion of a free press, has also limited Australian journalists’ professional practice in Indonesia. The news system requirement for journalists to seek elite sources and the improvements in communications technology have also hindered the freedoms for Australian journalists as they operate from Indonesia. Thus, it is argued that Australian journalists in Indonesia and their local staff have worked under a range of constraints and have been pressured to serve a variety of competing masters in reporting from the archipelago. Their work has to be understood as a complex artefact crafted in response to this range of insistent and intrusive pressures. Acknowledgements My gratitude goes out to my supervisors, for their essential and consistent encouragement and enthusiasm over four years. Professor Philip Kitley was meticulous in the reading of drafts, supportive at conferences, and continually provided intellectual assistance. Professor Adrian Vickers was encouraging and patient, especially in the early stages of my research, and later from the University of Sydney where he continued his support and assistance. Special thanks also to Associate Professor John McQuilton for his continual support and for reading the final draft. Thanks to the Faculty of Arts and CAPSTRANS staff at the University of Wollongong who have fostered a spirit of collegiality in the corridor, and for the opportunities and support given to me as a teaching academic for four years. Gratitude also goes to my postgraduate colleagues who provided intellectual stimulation and great friendships, especially John Kwok, who viii patiently shared an office with me for three years. Thanks particularly to Joakim Eidenfalk, Jaimee Hamilton, Jen Hawksley, Andrew Humphreys, Claire Lowrie, Georgia Lysaght and Sophie Williams. This was a history based largely on personal interviews in both Australia and Indonesia, and I would like to thank those that gave up their time to help with this project at no financial gain. In particular, Frank Palmos was very generous with his time, encouragement and in providing
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