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Editorial: Obscene beyond porn
Wed, 11/12/2008 10:52 AM | Opinion
The younger brother of Amrozi, one of the Bali bombers executed early Sunday, said he was proud his brother had never burdened his parents. As a boy he earned his own money by selling newspapers, a report said.
In another report prior to the long-delayed execution, Amrozi's mother was pictured receiving little guests, a kindergarten class, with their laughing teacher among her many visitors.
For some, media outlets delivered more than their audience cared to know about the convicted terrorists and their families. The media's strategy, nevertheless, is to give as much information as possible to satiate public curiosity.
Not surprisingly some people said they were relieved when the execution finally took place, regardless of whether they approved of the death penalty -- just because it meant the circus was over.
Amid the zealous efforts to protect society from porn, we may have forgotten what is more obscene than the parade of flesh: the parade of violence and religious rhetoric justifying violence.
True, media consumers have the complete freedom not to read or watch what they do not like. But the perception we possess unbounded freedom with no degree of prudence in how we use it has provided ample excuses for introducing laws to curb such liberty.
With all the technological means at hand, the race to give the public what it wants is limited only by the creativity of the "media vultures", to borrow a moniker from critics.
Vultures, so the popular perception goes, swoop down and devour whatever pitiable prey lies dead or dying. In the name of delivering as much as possible as fast as possible, journalists and reporters assume their audience desires all the details they manage to dig up. Drama and "human interest" are classic ingredients for delightful or heart-wrenching stories to engage the public.
Despite some high-profile celebrity lawsuits charging the media with invasion of privacy, many of us in the newsroom continue relying on those ingredients to unearth juicy tidbits about high-profile people.
Often we forget, however, that what we may perceive as interest borders on sickness.
Media principles have been subverted and now line up behind the marketing rule, "the public wants what the public gets".
It may be fun to see all the hairstyles of little Suri, though parents Kate and Tom Cruise may wish for less exposure for their child. And the new First Kids in the White House are seeing only their initial days of many in the spotlight.
But the media here, in spite of and because of all its freedom, has yet to draw the line distinguishing what is human interest from what does not merit the ink and costly airtime, when it comes to those convicted of heinous crimes or anyone briefly in the spotlight for their questionable behavior. Clearly weak law enforcement has helped to blur the line separating good and bad guys in a major way: Any miscreant need only lie low for a few years after being convicted to resurface graced with our generous ambience of amnesia.
We are not for harsher measures against the press; we are all for overturning the clauses in the press law which could land us in jail and lead us back to the traumatic days of heavy self-censorship and looking over our shoulders for Big Brother.
But after 10 years of freedom we know the media could well do far more self-regulation. By meeting that obligation we can stave off popular calls for laws to regulate what people can broadcast or consume in their living rooms.
Let us underline, self-regulation should not be interpreted as a version of New Order self-censorship.
A responsible and open media should not just convey random, crude and unadulterated information. It is our task to ensure a free media presents knowledge to civil society.
Information is not knowledge, and knowledge is certainly a few steps away from wisdom.
How much are we truly contributing to an informed civil society by glorifying the murderers of over 200 people?
The irony is that, while the Bali bombers were rightly executed as cold-blooded murderers, ultimately it is the media who made their dream come true by turning them into martyrs.
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Jaka (not verified) — Wed, 11/12/2008 - 8:24pm
And I do truly hope that this is the last from JP to continue focus itself on Amrozi cs. They died. What we can do is only pray for them, and hoping that this is the last of its own. Another chapter of Indonesian history is closed. let's open a new, brighter page.
Expat (not verified) — Wed, 11/12/2008 - 5:08pm
Stephen553, well spoken. As a fellow citizen from the western world and having lived in Indonesia, I totally agree with you.
We are all being used by malevalent forces above us and as individuals we must become more aware.
Stephen553 (not verified) — Wed, 11/12/2008 - 4:18pm
I am not a Muslim, and I am not Indonesian, but would love to add this comment if you care to read. Ultimately I believe we are no one to judge others. Most of you may see them as evil, as tyrants, there are worse people than them in this world. They are a product of the society around them. The real culprits are the ones that sowed the seeds of such a deed into their hearts, built the circumstances that lead to such men doing their deeds. As a newspaper it is those you need to expose, rather than the foot soldiers. These men were normal ordinary family men, with a past, with stories, with feelings, what suddenly made them go and do this deed? Perhaps there are bigger players in the picture and they don't want to be exposed out as being the catalysts of such events. From my understanding is this, the rapid westernization of Indonesian society, breakdown in values, contempt of your own ancient culture and religion , added with the indifference caused to other nations that are victims of western forign policy, is enough to bring more of such men to do such deeds. Expose the root causes of all this, without any bias or hatred.
Let the Lord be the judge of their souls, no one among us is without sin. let him without sin cast the first stone. They died, and unless the root causes of such things are dealt with, more of them will come.
Its time to do some soul searching in Indonesia. And It is also time that media like you exposes the agendas of western nations , the breakdown of values, that can drive some to desperate measures, that they seem to justify for their actions, which from one point of view looks wrong, and their point of view, looks right.
Who is right and wrong, there is much more going on behind the scenes for normal people to decide that. For now, the men have been punished by the law of the land for their acts. There is no need to further demonize men who no longer exist on earth.
Toro (not verified) — Wed, 11/12/2008 - 4:09pm
Indeed, media was not sensitive to the Balibomb' victims by turning the bombers as "hero". Coverage on the murderers was too much as if no other news.But, we can also learn that to some people the murderers are welcome by them. It's another ironic. Then better media not to cover them as "hero" again.