•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

In the belief that private media firms are not providing and balanced news coverage, Vice President Boediono on Monday called on state-owned media — new agency Antara, public broadcasters Televisi Republik Indonesia, and Radio Republik Indonesia — to focus on the importance of national politics and national unity.

Although the vice president did not make any direct references to the Bank Century case, news coverage by newspapers and TV broadcasters has been dominated by the controversial Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) bailout of the mid-sized lender.

Reports on investigations spearheaded by private media have concentrated on attempts by political parties to pin the blame for the bailout on Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani.

“This is not a government attempt to dominate or direct [state] media,” Boediono said. “This is about balancing news coverage, without restricting the media’s freedom of expression. Antara should not forget its mission of upholding national unity and being the government’s voice and communicator of Indonesia’s message to the outside world,” Boediono said on Monday, during an event marking the 72nd anniversary of Antara.

Boediono noted that even though competition for news was fierce today, not everything printed or broadcast should be dictated by the market.

“If everything is done so that it fulfills what the market wants, by which I mean consumers of media services, I believe this is not exactly correct, because the state has other missions which include the protection of the bigger public interest, which is national unity,” Boediono said.

The vice president added assurances that the media would not revert back to the policies of the New Order regime when the state dictated to the media.

Under former President Suharto, news coverage was controlled by the government to such an extent that, for instance, the entire story on the consequences of a 10-year military operation in Aceh, including the mass killings of locals that occurred during that period, never really reached Jakarta until after Suharto resigned as head of state in 1998.

“The truth is crucial and this should be upheld via checks and balances. Media and politics have a close relationship. Information published or broadcast has been known to influence the course of formal politics,” Boediono said.

He also called for government officials to widen the access for journalists in regard to news on state policies.

He requested that Tifatul Sembiring, the communication and information technology minister, promote synergy between state-owned media Antara, Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI) and Radio Republik Indonesia.

Tiftatul said that coordinating news distribution between the state-owned media was not considered “intervention.”

“The government is the regulator. So, we will assist the media to be more fair,” Tifatul said, adding that he agreed with Boediono’s statements that news coverage in Indonesia was not balanced.

“We can see this in a number of aspects,” Tifatul said, declining to answer journalists who asked if his statement was made in regard to the Bank Century scandal.

“The media should be honest, fair and for the general public. They should not be utilized to serve the interests of just certain groups,” Tifatul said.