Special Reports: Track records not a big deal for media: Survey

Erwida Maulia ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 07/01/2009 12:37 PM  |  National

What would you most want to hear from presidential candidates? Their promises or their past records?

Regardless of the answer, the press - including print media and television - seems to give the public less options.

A recent survey by the Institute for Studies on the Free Flow of Information (ISAI) shows local print and broadcast media outlets have consistently preferred publishing or broadcasting stories on the campaign activities of the three candidates and their running mates, rather than informing the public of their - in most cases - controversial track records.

Of 2,551 stories covering the presidential election, published between June 16 and 26 in 13 mainstream print media, only 2 percent or 47 stories told the public of the candidates' past performances - far fewer than the 725 reports on candidates' promises.

In TV, less than 4 percent or 61 of 1551 reports aired between May 16 and 25 covered track records, while reports on campaigning amounted to 786 stories.

Newspapers, magazines and TV stations appear to be more interested in publishing or broadcasting reports on candidates' campaign activities, which have been commonly filled with pledges.

Other election-related stories include those on campaign activities by candidates' campaign teams, and on polling preparations and campaign monitoring by the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu).

"The stories are mostly about future programs, visions and missions, promises, or what the candidates will do if elected," ISAI program coordinator for advocacy, research and media observance, Ahmad Faisol, said Tuesday.

He added the public would be left largely in the dark about the candidates' track records, because there were far fewer stories about their past.

Unfortunately, no explanation has ever been provided for the reasons behind the inordinately scant coverage of the track records of the candidates.

The print media outlets surveyed included Kompas, Indopos, Seputar Indonesia, Jurnal Nasional, Rakyat Merdeka, Media Indonesia, and Tempo and Gatra magazines.

TV stations surveyed included SCTV, RCTI, Trans TV, Metro TV, TVRI and TV One.

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