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Media and Politics: Re-Thinking The Indonesian Broadcasting System
Media and Politics: Re-Thinking The Indonesian Broadcasting System
Masduki•
Abstract
The emergence of the policy of broadcasting liberalization in the established democracies of
Europe and North America, which is indicated by the absence of state intervention to broadcasting
governance has been influencing broadcasting policy in the new democracies, including Indonesia.
Is it true that Indonesia adopts a liberal broadcasting policy? This paper outlines two issues. First,
the academic debate surrounding broadcasting system in the world. Second, discussion as stated
by scholars on a thesis of the enactment of the liberal media system in Indonesia that is primarily
based on the broadcasting policies after Suharto’s reign of power, among others Law 32/2002 on
Broadcasting. Based on the intensive literature review, it can be concluded that the broadcasting
system prevailing in Indonesia is not purely liberal, but a mix of liberal and authoritarian model,
a unique character that also occurs in the post-communist and post-authoritarian states in Asia,
Africa and Eastern Europe. This mix is indicated within the last fifteen years through the adoption
of public and community broadcasters and the establishment of Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia
(KPI) as an independent regulator that were accompanied with the existing control of the ruling
government to public broadcasters (RRI & TVRI); the weak mandate of KPI and the omission of
commercial broadcasting domination.
Keywords:
broadcasting system; liberalization; hybrid.
Abstrak
Arus kuat liberalisasi sistem penyiaran pada negara-negara maju di Eropa dan Amerika Utara (yang
bercirikan pengurangan intervensi negara atas tata kelola penyiaran) turut mempengaruhi sistem serupa
pada negara transisi demokrasi di Asia dan Afrika termasuk Indonesia. Benarkah Indonesia kini menganut
sistem penyiaran yang liberalistik? Tulisan ini menguraikan dua hal. Pertama, perdebatan akademik
seputar sistem penyiaran dunia. Kedua, menguji lagi tesis berlakunya sistem siaran liberal di Indonesia
sebagaimana dikemukakan para ahli komunikasi yang didasarkan kepada dua regulasi media pasca Orde
Baru, yaitu UU 40/1999 tentang Pers dan UU 32/2002 tentang Penyiaran. Berdasarkan kajian literatur
yang intensif, dapat disimpulkan bahwa sistem penyiaran yang berlaku di Indonesia tidak murni liberal,
tetapi suatu hibrida antara sistem liberal dan otoritarian, model yang juga terjadi di negara pasca komunis
dan pasca otoriter di Asia, Afrika dan Eropa Timur. Terdapat pluralisme lembaga penyiaran lewat pengakuan
atas institusi penyiaran publik dan komunitas, disertai pembentukan regulator penyiaran independen.
Namun, sepanjang 15 tahun terakhir, terjadi pembiaran atas dominasi penyiaran komersial, kewenangan
‘setengah hati’ Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia selaku regulator independen dan intervensi politik yang
berkesinambungan atas penyiaran publik RRI dan TVRI.
•
Department of Communication, Universitas Islam Indonesia
Email: masduki@hotmail.com
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Masduki, Media and Politics: Re-Thinking the Indonesian Broadcasting System
Kata kunci:
sistem penyiaran; liberalisasi; hibrida.
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Masduki, Media and Politics: Re-Thinking the Indonesian Broadcasting System
that consequently determines a broadcasting at least keep quiet in order to maintain calm in
system (Curran, 2002). its operation. The application of authoritarian
In an interplay of economic and model in countries with economic development
political forces among actors and structures, priorities such as Indonesia’s New Order era
broadcasting system is influenced by internal is considered as the practice of development
and external aspects. For example, the tendency journalism (Romano, 2003). News are packaged
of political intervention to the media hinders to include elite imagery.
adoption of a democratic broadcasting policy The liberal press system is the opposite
(Voltmer, 2008). In this sense, Romano (2003) of authoritarianism. According to the history
and McCargo (2012) noted, Indonesia has of the United States and Britain as ‘the
undergone a rapid reform of politics and birth mother’ of liberalism, the principle of
broadcasting system over the past 15 years, individual rationality is totally allowed by
however, it leads to an uncertainty of end giving freedom of television operation through
result between consolidation to the democratic individual ownership without government
system, liberal or even moving back to the intervention. The basic concept of libertarian
authoritarian model. is a free press-working in a laissez faire; pluralism
In the academic tradition of of information; providing views encouraging
communication, assessment of the broadcasting democratic societies that are in line with ideas of
system links to a broad study of media Milton, Locke, Jefferson and Mill. Theoretically,
system. Initially, this study refers to a model this system encourages presentation of
developed by the trio of thinkers, namely empirical facts, however, in a free competition
Friedrich S. Siebert, Wilbur Schramm and climate, there will be manipulation of facts for
Theodore Peterson (1956) through their book: economic purposes (Siebert, et al 1956).
Four Theories of the Press. The four theories consist The communist media system is related
of: Communist, Authoritarian, Liberal and Social to the theory of communism itself, which
Responsibility. The press in this context covers was originally created by Marx and Hegel
all platforms including broadcasting which in (Siebert, et all, 1956). The media in this system
the 1950s had rapidly grown worldwide. The are placed entirely as government instrument;
Communist and Authoritarian press theory ownership and personnel are integrated with
has similarities in the state controlling over government officials aiming to transmit the
the performance of media via censorship idea of a classless society, not a factual event or a
and license. While the liberal system and routine activity. Broadcast media are run by the
social responsibility share similarities in self- communist party such as in the Soviet Union,
regulation managed by media personnel. and criticism of its ideology is prohibited. This
The hallmark of the authoritarian media system rests on the assumption that the public
system is the placement of state as a dominant is an apathetic entity, so that state intervention
actor that limits the space of journalists and becomes necessary.
media institutions to maintain social order. In this Meanwhile the social responsibility
sense, television as the dominant media is forced system is a mid-twentieth-century product in
to be a regime’s propagandist. Interventions the United States, promoted by the Hustchins
are made systematically by government Commission in 1947 in response to a destructive
ownership, censorship mechanism and libertarian media practice. Broadcasters in
operational permission. Private television this system have a moral responsibility to
can operate, but with the strict obligation to maintain harmony and social norms through
maintain the harmony of the ruling elite or to the code of conduct that is formulated and
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agreed upon by the actors. Still, the scholars models consist of liberal, democratic corporatist
of this theory consider it as liberal, but in and pluralized pluralist. First, the liberal model,
a responsible way. It places social interest as found in the UK, Canada & the US, features
through public broadcasting institution free media market competition, very weak
(Siebert, et al, 1956). state regulation as well as weak relation of
In its development, Firdaus (2012) noted, media-political party with the application of
these four theories received criticism and objective journalism. Second, the democratic
innovation from subsequent media experts, corporatist system (applied in the Central and
such as Herbert J. Altschull (1995) and Hachten Northern Europe especially Germany and
(1996). Hachten promotes a revolutionary Scandinavian states) characterizes the equality
media model, while McQuail introduces two of commercial media position with media-
other models: participatory development and based on social organization such as public
democratic media, a modification of the two Siebert broadcasters that are protected by law. Third,
concepts: liberal and social responsibility. The the Polarized Pluralist model (Southern
main disadvantages of Siebert’s concepts are: the Europe such as Italy and Spain), wherein the
bias of post-war conditions when the US and the media are integrated into political parties and
Soviet Union scrambled for political war. The state officials play a key role in formulating
theory also simplifies the complex portraits of broadcasting governance.
each country. Moreover, the theory is mainly In developing their analysis, Hallin
based on the political perspective of how media & Mancini (2004) use four indicators: First,
engages in relationships with the state, and its the structure of media market, including
lack of a socio-cultural analysis (Hallin & Mancini, media circulation; audience access and their
2004) as well as the influence of economic system tendencies as a source of news. Second,
on the phenomena of broadcasting (Ostini & political parallelism or media connection with
Fung, 2002). political parties; broadcast media orientation
Recent developments in the last two to audiences; journalistic position on the
decades show a complexity that can no longer dynamics of practical politics as well as the
be measured on the basis of Siebert’s theory, structure of media ownership. Third, journalist
especially after the collapse of Communism professionalism, which is related to the degree
in the late 1980s. For example, Germany as of autonomy journalists have at work, their
one of the new democratic states has a unique orientation to public interest, the availability
character in broadcasting governance with a dual of codes of ethics and codes of conduct,
system modelling: equal treatment between etc. Fourth, state’s construction of the media
public and commercial broadcasts. The German through the making of policies. This is related to
Constitution and Interstate Treaty since 1989 the presence or absence of a sensor mechanism
have equally regulated public broadcasters such on the content of the broadcast as well as state
as ARD and ZDF and commercial broadcasting subsidy over public broadcasters as in the UK
as newcomers in the 1990s. This portrait differs (BBC) and the US (NPR and PBS channels).
considerably from such system in the UK which With a sample of 18 European and North
tends to apply the principle of media liberalism. American countries, the categorization of Hallin
Based on intensive research in Europe and & Mancini was considered as the most systematic
North America, Hallin & Mancini (2004) offers study of media system after Siebert, et al (El-
three models of media system representing Richani, 2012; Voltmer, 2008). The two author’s
the current situation that is better improved category of media system includes broadcasting
compared to the thesis of Siebert et al. The and it can be described such as Table 1.
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Masduki, Media and Politics: Re-Thinking the Indonesian Broadcasting System
Table 1.
Three Models of Media System
Polarized Pluralist Democratic Liberal
Media System & (France, Greece, Italy, Corporatist (Britain, United States of
States Portugal) (Belgium, Denmark, America,
Germany, Netherlands) Canada, Ireland)
Political High, politics over broadcasting External pluralism Neutral commercial
parallelism system especially in national press; information oriented
High political press; historically strong journalism;
parallelism; external party press; shift toward internal pluralism (but
pluralism, commentary neutral commercial press; external pluralism in
oriented journalism; politics-in broadcasting Britain); professional
parliamentary or system with substantial model of broadcast
government model of autonomy governance – formally
broadcast governance autonomous system
Professionalism Weaker Strong Strong
of broadcasters professionalization professionalization; professionalization;
institutionalized self- non institutionalized
regulation self-regulation
Role of the State Strong state intervention; press Strong state intervention but Market dominated
in broadcasting subsidies in France and Italy; with protection for press (less state intervention, except
periods of freedom; press subsidies, strong public
censorship; “savage particularly broadcasting in Britain &
deregulation” (except strong in Scandinavia; Ireland)
France) strong PSB
Political history Late democratization, polarized Early democratization, Early democratization,
pluralism moderate pluralism moderate pluralism
Political culture Weak participation, strong Strong and collective Strong and rational
clientelism participation participation
Source: Hallin & Mancini (2004 & 2012)
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however, it contradicts the Film law that still for President/Vice President and even the
maintains censorship policy. Rahayu et.al., political party leaders. This behavior changed
also mentioned that broadcast digitalization TV performance from market player to a
policies during the last five years has resulted partisan actor. The owners who are a group
in a stronger state authority with a tendency to of oligarchs (Winters, 2014) did not merely
prioritize industry, not the public. seek economic profit, but aimed at practical
In the context of political parallelism, political positions. By the end of 2016, an
government relations with broadcasting updated draft of the Broadcasting Law from
can be observed through the position of RRI the Government proposed a controversial issue,
and TVRI in two issues. First, the authority namely the special broadcasting institution.
to elect the supreme leader: Supervisory Kristiawan (2017) considers this proposal
Board which according to Law 32/2002 is as a step backwards which aims to restore
in the Parliament through a team formed broadcasting institution as an authoritarian
by the government. Second, the provision political agent. It also reduces the existence of
of operational budget namely the annual public broadcasting as a democratic model of
state budget of revenue and expenditure or broadcasting system.
APBN. These two powers open a room for Furthermore, in terms of public
political intervention over the operation of and community broadcasting, protection
public broadcasting. On the other hand, since over both models in Law 32/2002 and its
2002, government officials and broadcasters subsequent policies is very weak. Several
of RRI-TVRI are enjoying comfortable policies issued from 2003 to the present day
and interdependent positions, as well as show the marginalization process of the
disagreeing on the idea that RRI and TVRI two institutions. For example, Government
become an independent corporation outside Regulations 12 and 13 of 2005 only allocate
the government (Masduki, 2007). 20 percent of the frequency quota for RRI and
In the commercial sector, the trend of TVRI, in contrast to such institution in the UK
media politicization has been emerging in the (BBC) and Japan (NHK) that receive more
past 10 years, involving political actors outside than 40 percent. The same is experienced by
government officials. The term politicization community radio which only receives three
refers to a repeated history of media use for frequencies, the rest is offered for private
practical political interests in the Sukarno channels. In the content production, ministries
regime of the 1950s and 1960s (Kitley, 2000). In and politicians kept intervening in the operation
this period, broadcasting was owned by the of RRI-TVRI through their positions as state
government and its role was as a tool for public budget provider (Masduki & Darmanto, 2014).
order. The recent politicization took place Journalist professionalism as the third
throughout the 2014 election wherein national indicator (refer to Hallin & Mancini, 2004) in
televisions centered in Jakarta such as Metro TV the past ten years of Indonesian democracy
and TVOne became a political imagery agent for shows a bleak portrait. On the one hand, there
their owners (Surya Paloh and Aburizal Bakrie). is freedom for television and radio journalists
In the early years of the 1998-2007 in producing news, freedom in setting up
period, the growth of television industry was broadcast channels and association, and
still in the consolidation stage with a very also the introduction of independent regulators
strong business style. However, during the such as KPI which becomes the guardian of
2000s, there was an engagement between broadcaster ’s autonomy from direct state
owners of commercial TVs with the candidates intervention through the issuance of codes of
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