Justice ministry award press for 'influential' reports

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 04/10/2008 11:24 PM  |  National

The Justice and Human Rights Ministry has awarded three journalists, three photojournalists and three TV stations for their "influential" reports on its law and human rights policies.

The awards were announced following a recent survey by the anti-corruption body that found the justice ministry among 30 government and state companies providing public services that had low integrity scores.

The ministry selected 41 written feature stories, 200 photos and 26 television news stories published or broadcast between August 2007 and March 2008.

For the writing category, it declared Kompas newspaper reporter Vincentia Hanny the winner for her article Repotnya daftarkan parpol (Troubles in registering political parties).

First runner-up was Bintang Samiadji of pantauonline for his story Berjuang setelah Yap (The struggle after Yap), and third place went to Jurnal Nasional daily's Okky Puspa Madasari for Hemat anggaran dan pembebasan bersyarat (Economical budget and conditional liberation).

For the photo category, Boy T. Harjanto from Indo Pos came in third place for his photograph Tersangka ekstasi (Ecstasy suspect).

For Bukti pelanggaran HAM (Evidence of human rights violations), Danu Kusworo from Kompas took second place. First prize went to photojournalist Dwi A. Irawan from Bali Post for his Terhalang terali (Hindered by the bars of a window).

SCTV took first place among TV stations for its report, Menanti eksekusi di Nusakambangan (Waiting for an execution in Nusakambangan), while MetroTV took second for its coverage on Barang bajakan (Pirated products). Third place went to Trans7 for its report Kuliah di lapas (Lecture in detention center).

Ministry secretary general Abdul Bari Azed said a panel of three judges chose the winners based on the effect of their news stories and photos.

"We consider the winners to have provided influential information to the public about the ministry's policies," he told a news conference on the sidelines of the awards ceremony Tuesday.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Matalatta said journalists played a key role in bridging the gap between his office and the public.

"I would have never known about bribery practices committed by immigration officials if journalists did not report them," he said, referring to the 2007 Integrity Survey conducted by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Andi said the survey created positive feedback for his office to improve its performance.

The minister said he hoped the justice ministry would confer such awards annually. (ewd)

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