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Industrialization a challenge toward press freedom: Council
Big media owners pose a huge threat to the press in achieving freedom, professionalism, quality and prosperity for industry players, says an expert
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ig media owners pose a huge threat to the press in achieving freedom, professionalism, quality and prosperity for industry players, says an expert.
'I think all media players are fully aware of the internal and external challenges that the press faces,' said Press Council chairman Bagir Manan in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
He was speaking at a national seminar on media entrepreneurship for journalists held by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) at Bung Hatta Convention Hall in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra.
He said media convergence was one of internal challenges press workers were currently facing. 'Media monopolization threats are prone to happen as the consequence of the development of technology,' said Bagir.
He said the main problem was the absence of a clear regulation on the issue of media conglomeration. 'There should be rules to ensure equal benefits in the development of media technology,' said Bagir.
The fast growth of social media is also considered a challenge for press workers.
Bagir said that social media should be used to strengthen press functions.
'The press should become a tool to develop a civilization instead of destroying it,' said Bagir, adding that maximizing the role of press associations to improve the quality of Indonesian press was another challenge that must be dealt with.
On external challenges, there is a growing trend among media owners to exploit their media companies for the sake of their own political and economic interests.
'Because of political and economic interests, there is a piercing of the 'firewall' that separates journalistic and business functions,' said Bagir.
The seminar, held as part of the ninth AJI Congress, highlighted efforts to increase the prosperity of journalists and media industry players and ways to benefit from opportunities offered in the technology-driven media era.
AJI chairman Eko Maryadi said his institution continued to push journalists to develop press companies at regional levels so public access to information was not monopolized by big media owners. (ebf)(+++)
