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Consider sanctions on major TV stations: experts
The government should impose severe sanctions on television stations that frequently violate the broadcasting code of conduct, or at least sanction them with a probationary period before granting permit extensions, experts have said.
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Activists staged a peaceful rally to criticize the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission’s (KPI) slow response over poor quality TV programs in Jakarta recently. (Tempo/-)
T
he government should impose severe sanctions on television stations that frequently violate the broadcasting code of conduct, or at least sanction them with a probationary period before granting permit extensions, experts have said.
Nine television stations, namely ANTV, Global TV, Indosiar, MNC TV, RCTI, SCTV, Trans TV, TV7 and TV One, will see their permits expire in October, while Metro TV will have to renew its permit in December.
Paulus Widiyanto, the head of the special committee for the deliberation of the broadcasting bill for 1999-2002, said some of those stations were originally based outside of Jakarta, such as SCTV in Surabaya and ANTV in Lampung.
Therefore, he proposed bringing back stations guilty of violations to their original hometowns if they wanted to receive a 10-year permit extension.
“So, news production can be decentralized. People in regions outside Jakarta can watch other news programs besides those broadcast by Jakarta-based stations,” Paulus said during a discussion in Jakarta on Tuesday.
R. Kristiawan, a media expert at the TIFA Foundation, said the government could offer a one-year trial period for violators. “If the stations still broadcast problematic content during the trial period, then revoke their permits,” he said.
The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) has been conducting public discussions with Jakarta-based stations from May 10 to May 17. After the discussions, the KPI will conduct a special plenary meeting to decide whether or not to issue a worthiness recommendation letter.
The KPI will look at three main factors in evaluating the television stations, namely their adherence to the Code of Conduct and Program Standards (P3SPS), their broadcasting program proposals for the next 10 years and their implementation of the Network Broadcast System.
The commission imposed 266 sanctions on several stations in 2015. The figure was higher than the previous year’s 184 sanctions.
The KPI also stated that all of the TV stations had failed to fully implement the Network Broadcast System, which revolves around the decentralization principle as stipulated in the 2002 Broadcasting Law.
This principle prohibits stations from broadcasting nationally, forcing them to become parent stations with a network of local member stations. Each member station must broadcast at least 10 percent local content, which involves and concerns local people.
In a hearing at the House of Representatives on March 7, the KPI said four of 15 private TV stations, namely Trans 7, Global TV, Net TV and RTV, had failed to include local content in all of their member stations. (vps/ags)
