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Commentary: Journalists worse than prostitutes, so are lawyers and politicians
Popular TV star and model Luna Maya is not all that wrong in suggesting that infotainment journalists “are worse than prostitutes”, and no self-respecting journalists (assuming they had any respect at all) should feel offended by her statement that she posted in her Twitter account last week
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opular TV star and model Luna Maya is not all that wrong in suggesting that infotainment journalists “are worse than prostitutes”, and no self-respecting journalists (assuming they had any respect at all) should feel offended by her statement that she posted in her Twitter account last week.
The tall and beautiful celebrity, whose Twitter statement sparked protests from people who make it their profession to report on the showbiz world, is echoing the sentiments that many people in Indonesia, and not just celebrities, have about journalists and the work they do.
If anyone has the right to be upset by Luna Maya’s remarks, it must be the prostitutes, for she has made an invalid comparison between one of the most loathsome professions in the eyes of the public, with one of the world’s oldest professions.
A quick search in Yahoo and Google, by typing keywords “journalists, profession, worst” found some interesting and irrefutable evidence about the public standing of journalists around the world.
In Europe, journalists persistently rank among the lowest regarded professions, but those in the media world can take heart that they still ranked slightly better than lawyers. One article suggests that journalists are as loathsome as politicians.
In Canada, the journalists’ public standing has fallen dramatically in the last 15 years with the proliferation of the media, according to a 2008 survey. Although they still fared better than politicians, journalists are surprisingly trailing behind lawyers.
In Australia, media professionals ranked right at the bottom, even below lawyers and politicians, and are on par with real estate agents. But then, we all know how cynical Australian journalism can be.
There has never been any kind of survey about the most loathsome professions in Indonesia that we know of, but one can almost be sure that journalists, and we don’t mean only the infotainment kind, would be ranked among the lowest.
A popular phrase in daily conversations in this country is to refer the rumor monger in the crowd “dasar wartawan!”, which is saying that you are a journalist (wartawan) in a very disparaging tone.
Infotainment journalism of course is not an exclusively Indonesian phenomenon. Remember how the paparazzi chased Prince Diana until her fatal car accident? In the United States, Tiger Woods recently learned that there are other types of journalists who are more interested about his private life than his golfing skills. Luna Maya is just joining the ranks of celebrities who are falling prey to the infotainment journalism.
Some professional media workers were quick to point out that those reporting the lives of celebrities could hardly call themselves journalists, since they are intruding on the private lives of others and they mostly report on gossip rather than fact.
But in the eyes of the public, all journalists are the same. And whether you are reporting the lives of celebrities or politics or business, you are all journalists as far as the public is concerned.
The only concern about this Luna Maya episode is that this brouhaha over essentially nothing may just be another conspiracy concocted by the infotainment world and the celebrity in question. Such a collaboration in showbiz is not unknown, and has been used to sustain or boost the popularity of a particular star. Usually, it’s a case of journalists helping to reverse the fortunes of a waning celebrity, while he or she gives them something to write about.
This Luna Maya case will likely die down soon, because it is simply inconceivable to think the police will waste taxpayer money on investigating a defamation complaint filed by an infotainment journalist.
But journalists of all genres should use this episode to look at themselves in the mirror and ask, what it is that they do that makes many people find them so loathsome, and whether they need to change their ways and bring back some credibility and respect into their profession.
If worse comes to worst, we do nothing and resign ourselves to the fact that we are indeed worse than prostitutes. But at least we can say that lawyers and politicians and real estate agents, going by surveys in Canada, Europe and Australia, aren’t all that much better. If anyone doesn’t like this statement, sue me.
Text your say:
In your view, what is the most loathsome profession, and why? Send your thoughts by email to readersforum@thejakartapost.com or SMS to +628111872772. Be sure to include your name and city.
