Bad practice, best practice and press ethics

Warief Djajanto Basorie ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 02/25/2008 12:02 PM  |  Opinion

A person's private life is no one else's concern. Indonesia's press, however, often has the inclination to violate people's privacy.

A case in point is a news story concerning the IPDN in May 2007. The state-operated Public Administration Institute in Jatinangor, West Java, expelled two female students for undergoing abortions.

The students concerned may have breached school rules. The incident was an internal matter. But the press reported it. One major Jakarta newspaper printed the names of the female students.

In a separate story, a Sumatra newspaper reported a rape case, disclosing the initials of the victim. But people were able to trace her identity because the address of the victim was given.

Another story concerned a 14 year-old boy convicted for murdering a 10-year-old. One Jakarta paper named the boy and showed his photo leaving prison.

Media observer Atmakusumah Astraatmadja cites these examples of insensitive reporting tantamount to violation of people's privacy.

An instructor on press ethics at the Jakarta-based Dr. Soetomo Press Institute, LPDS, put it to a recent media seminar on privacy ethics in Surabaya that journalists must know where to draw the line in matters of privacy.

Press stories that violate people's privacy also violate the code of ethics journalists themselves formulated.

In March 2006 29 Indonesian journalists' and press organizations drafted an 11-article Journalistic Code of Ethics. The code contains two key articles concerning ethics on privacy. Article 5 states Indonesian journalists do not disclose and publicize the identity of the victims of sex crimes and do not identify children below the age of 16 who are crime suspects.

Article 9 affirms that Indonesian journalists respect the right of sources to their private life except for matters relating to the public interest.

Intruding on a person's privacy, identifying a rape victim, and naming minors in a crime case are but three bad practices by journalists. What is depressing is that a newspaper report that includes the private concerns of individuals can hurt members of their immediate family.

Sirikit Syah, founder-director of the Media Consumers Institute, LKM, a Surabaya-based media monitor, told the ExxonMobil-supported seminar the tale of the teacher who lost her job. An East Java paper reported on a man with HIV AIDS in Madura Island. The account revealed that he had a school teacher as his wife.

After the story came out her pupils boycotted her class. This led the school's head to ask her to resign. Although the teacher may not be HIV positive, the AIDS stigma has killed her career.

How can journalists be sensitized to the privacy rights of people in their reporting?

Constantly instilling media people with the best practices in journalism is one way.

Accuracy, balance, clarity and comprehensiveness are journalism basics.

Add honesty, fairness and sensitivity, if not compassion. With that, journalists are applying some best practices in their work.

If the press subscribes to best practices in journalism, reporters and editors should be automatically ingrained with their own code of ethics.

The public can also play a role to advance the professional and ethical standards of the press. Criticizing and praising the press are well warranted.

Journalism awards sponsored by press-freedom advocates and private sector groups are also a measure to enhance the professionalism of journalists.

Another public contribution would be the trend toward citizen journalism. Readers send news reports to their newspaper to share. The daily Surya in Surabaya does this. In Jakarta, the Republika daily has a page titled Kiriman Anda (Your Delivery) in its Sunday edition. It plays pictures and news briefs from readers. Meanwhile, The Jakarta Post encourages school-age children and young people to write for its fortnightly Youthspeak insert.

The bottom line is that for the press to be professional and sensitive to privacy, it should abide by its code of ethics and consciously execute the best practices of journalism. Further, it should listen to the legitimate complaints of the public and act upon them.

From the public's perspective, the public should constantly critique the press and also show appreciation if the press serves the public interest.

This kind of interaction between the press and the public will not only reduce the level of privacy violations and other faulty practices, it will also fortify the tenets of a civil society.

The writer is a free lance writer. He can be reached at wariefdj@yahoo.com.

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