Media and Political Relations

Analyzing Press System: Media Indonesia
by Takhta Pandu Padmanegara

Media Indonesia is one of the national newspapers owned by Suryapaloh, the owner of Media Group. When analyzing Media Indonesia, It is difficult to see what kind of pure press system that is adopted by Media Indonesia. In my analysis by observing its contents, the press system that is adopted by Media Indonesia is the combination between Libertarian and Social Responsibility theory.

Libertarian theory which is usually called free press theory is adopted by Media Indonesia that usually can find in their editorial, some of their news, and sometimes we can find in its photos. There is an ideology that public has right to know and freedom of speak. That’s why Media Indonesia provides the big column for comment from public. While in the other hand Media Indonesia also adopting the Social Responsibility theory, which puts the mass media and the government on the same level, signifying an interaction where both parts are allowed to criticize the other (Terje Steinulfsson Skjerdal, 1993). Even though in its news have critics to government but Media Indonesia also becomes the bridge between government and public. Media Indonesia informs to public about what has the government done. Beside that some of the news also provides the solution to the reader. Hence, there is a balance in their news content that responsible to social problem. In its contents, generally the content of news in Media Indonesia shows that it influences people mostly through opinion leader. Media Indonesia is putting the opinion from the expertise and public leader to make their news become trustable and objective.

However, if we want to go deeper by seeing all the whole news, concept, and the way the news is reported, we will get different assumption. It seems the newspaper has tendency to become the informer of the government and it wouldn’t want to become the rival of the government. I have an assumption that Surya Paloh, as the owner, a politician, and a media practitioner, has an agenda that he doesn’t want to have the bad relationship with the government at the same time as also trying to get the reader’s interest that (perhaps) will be useful and give benefit to him and other media group’s board. In conclusion, all those happens in mass media especially in Media Indonesia could not be free from anything, it always an agenda setting that is used to set the agenda of the public.