TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - We must support every endeavor to improve the Indonesian press, including setting up standards by the Press Council as regulated by Press Council Regulation No. 4/2008. The 17-point guideline, if implemented properly, will make the press function as a medium of information, education, entertainment and social control, as well as being a truly healthy commercial entity.
At the time, the Press Council enjoyed widespread support. Its standards were discussed by organizations, press people and the leaders of media organizations. The Press Council then headed by former Gadjah Mada University Dean Ichlasul Amal was seen as having achieved something important. Its role was specified in Article 15 (f) of Law No. 40/1999 on the Press, i.e. to facilitate press organizations in drawing up regulations and improving the quality of journalism.
There is one important qualification. The 17 points of the press industry standards state that print media must be verified by a press industry organization, while broadcast media must be verified by the Indonesia Broadcasting Commission (KPI). In 2015, under the leadership of Bagir Manan, the Press Council issued a mandate to the Press Industry Association (SPS) an organization of print and online media publishers to act as the verifier of print media.
The SPS has been busy. In 2010 it invited 18 media company leaders to sign the Press Charter a statement of willingness to ratify the press industry standards as issued by the Press Council. The official signing was at the marking of National Press Day and was witnessed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
It is the question of the Press Council's authority that has led to reports of media verification causing such a fuss last week. After all, at the National Press Day commemoration in Ambon, attended by President Jokowi, the Press Council, which has been headed by Yosep "Stanley" Adi Prasetyo since March 2016, announced that 77 publications were undergoing verification. This means the Press Council has intervened in the verification of press industry standards.
It is fair to say the Press Council has exceeded its authority. According to Law No. 40/1999, as well as facilitating the drawing up of press regulations as laid down in Article 15 (f), the Press Council is also responsible for its documentation, as per Article 15 (h). And verification is clearly not the same as documentation.
It is not only its authority that is causing concern. The statement by Press Council Chairman Stanley, that the council would only provide support and protection to publications involved in disputes if they have already been verified, is not in line with the Press Law No. 40/1999 Article 15 (d). This legislation states that the role of the Press Council is to consider and endeavor to resolve complaints from the public or cases related to press reporting. This article says nothing about requiring the Press Council to only assist media that have been verified.
Then there is the concern over the provision of barcodes for media that have been verified. The worry is that news sources will be suspicious of or even reject media that do not have the verification barcode. If this happens, unverified media will be hampered in doing their job.
The efforts of the Press Council to clean up the media must not infringe on the freedom of the press. (*)
Read the full story in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine
