Media may fuel conflicts: Watchdogs

The Indonesian Broadcasting Committee (KPI) and the Press Council have warned media workers, especially TV journalists, against overexposing violence in their coverage of conflicts as it may escalate tension among the warring groups and the society.
 
"Some of the stations have displayed things that are not supposed to be broadcast. The way they informed the public of an event was vulgar,” KPI chairman Dadang Rachmat Hidayat said Wednesday.

The events in question included the arrest of alleged bank robbers in North Sumatra, the clash on Jl. Ampera in South Jakarta and the conflict between ethnic groups in Tarakan, East Kalimantan.

Dadang regretted some TV channels for failing to blur the faces of victims or alleged perpetrators of the attacks.

KPI's coordinator of content broadcast Ezki Suyanto said that most TV stations lacked guidelines or editorial policies to prevent unnecessary graphic reporting.

"Reporters in the field should receive prior briefing. The stations should select carefully who they send to cover conflicts," she said.
 
Agus Sudibyo from the Press Council asked the media to exercise caution in reporting conflicts so as not to escalate the violence.