Do you believe that the media are biased?

If so, how? Is this “good” or “bad” for politics and democracy?

What are the implications for political discourse in Indonesia when the media is

biased? You may include some examples in your explanations.

One of the most important foundation for media is its independence.

Independent in the sense of no interference or bias towards any group. In the

Indonesian journalism code of ethics, independent is written first as one of the most

important pillars of journalism. “Independent means reporting appropriate events or

facts with conscience without interference, coercion, and intervention from other

parties including the owner of the press company” (Nugroho & Samsuri, 2013). This

definition means that any form of interference will not be tolerated when it comes to

journalism even the ones from the press company. Though, that does not stop it

from happening in reality.

Media has a huge impact towards the world. And its influence has been a big

debate amongst many researchers. There are even theories developed about how

media can “shaped reality” for some people who have never experienced the things

presented on media. For example, Cultivation Theory reminds us that media can

form our perceptions on reality and daily lives. And even though there are still some

missing links about this theory it can be highly noticed that media can shape

people’s mind. Especially to believing what happens in the world since they don’t

experience it first-hand. That’s why sometimes media can be misused as a tool to

form opinions and ideas about certain issues. And mostly these issues are regarding
political and social issues (Maeroff, 1998; Spitzer, 1993; Wilson & Wilson, 2001;

Wimmer and Dominick, 1991).

When talking about media bias or non-independence, politics and media can

come hand in hand. Politic uses a big portion of media in their work.

Nugroho, B., & Samsuri. (2013). Pers Berkualitas, Masyarakat Cerdas.