Political Year has Arrived Sooner
Since the 2009 general election, we have seen the growing phenomenon of various candidates and political parties using social media to boost their image.
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The 2024 general election will be held in mid-February 2024, but the atmosphere is being felt 17 months before the election. How should the media behave in handling the political environment and weather that has already arrived now?
The pros and cons heated up the Kompas Ombudsman Forum held on Friday, 23 Sept. 2022, when the discussions focused on a number of demands and expectations from readers and political actors regarding the journalistic quality and independence of both political and legal reports.
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Looking at today’s media, it must be said that there are those that are independent and those that are not. Nonindependent media are those media outlets that are associated with certain political parties, while those outside this circle can be categorized as more or less independent. Apart from political parties, we are also seeing a phenomenon of political figures in the running being busy holding many events, building their image, polishing their appearance, and raising support, as measured by various polling institutions.
The question is, what approach should mainstream media take towards the phenomena of partisan media and influencers?
Since the 2009 general election, we have seen the growing phenomenon of various candidates and political parties using social media to boost their image. Meanwhile, we have seen the phenomenon of buzzer (influencers) actively using social media to promote their champions in the last two elections. The question is, what approach should mainstream media take towards the phenomena of partisan media and influencers?
Be independent, independent, and independent. That is the key word that media organizations like Kompas must maintain in covering the 2024 general election. Kompas was founded in June 1965 and it has been present alongside seven Indonesian presidents so far. We will soon have the eighth president, and Kompas must of course continue to be present in accompanying the president.
Being critical of any government is not teasing or simply using sarcasm; there are legally recognized functions and it is the duty of the press to continue to be proportionally critical of any government.
“Accompanying” here means being present as an institution that provides information to the public, an institution that provides education and enlightenment to the people, and becoming an institution of social control. These functions are all recognized in Press Law No. 40/1999. Being critical of any government is not teasing or simply using sarcasm; there are legally recognized functions and it is the duty of the press to continue to be proportionally critical of any government.
At a time when social media is competing with the mass media over narratives, demands have also increased for the mass media to be places that clarify various "information" that still needs verification. Indeed, this is not an easy task.
Chronicler of history
There was an interesting story in the United States several years ago, when Donald Trump was elected as the 45th US president, service from 2017 to 2021. The largest US newspaper, The New York Times (NYT), was sorry that it failed to predict Trump's victory, and we know that the US hit rock bottom under Trump’s leadership. The NYT has been present alongside more than 30 Americain presidents since 1865.
The NYT is one of the newspapers Trump hated because of its editorial policies, which were critical of the Trump administration. At many press conferences during that time, Trump did not hesitate to call the NYT a spreader of hoaxes, hate towards himself, and other similar labels. What did the NYT do with all these accusations? They kept on working to provide information to the public, even to the point of counting the number of lies Trump told each day.
More interestingly, digital subscriptions to the NYT increased sharply during the Trump administration. Why? Because the American people knew that the president could not be trusted and they needed reliable information, and their choice fell on the NYT.
Of course, the Indonesian context is not as black and white as what happened in the US. We don't yet know which candidate will be contesting the next election, but as each potential figure stokes their candidacies, their followers have adopted fierce stances towards their critics.
The classic image of the press as the fourth pillar of democracy becomes increasingly relevant here, especially when the three other pillars of democracy need to be monitored continuously.
An independent press has honor (dignity) that must be maintained, in that they are an independent institution that views elections as one of the mechanisms a country that has chosen the path of democracy must pass to develop. The classic image of the press as the fourth pillar of democracy becomes increasingly relevant here, especially when the three other pillars of democracy need to be monitored continuously.
Similarly, Kompas must continue to be an independent press institution and not take sides with any political group or a particular political candidate. Political power comes and goes, and will continue to do so. However, press institutions such as Kompas, now in its sixth decade of life, will exist longer than anyone's political power.
We certainly hope that Kompas will continue to be present as a witness and chronicler of the history of this nation and country. A chronicler of the nation and country’s history like Kompas should not be afraid or shy about those who expect sympathy or support from the press or those that intimidate the press.
Gatherings with politicians still need to be held, but this chronicler of history must also maintain its honor and duty as a press institution. This chronicler is the one that provides the nation with information and education. In this way, this chronicler of history is also helping to shape the democratic civilization in this country. (*)
Ignatius Haryanto, A member of the Kompas Ombudsman
(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo).