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| FotoBERNAMA |
The
setting up of a proper press council has led to a more independent media in
Indonesia, according to an associate professor of journalism at George
Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs.
Prof
Dr Janet Steele said based on the Indonesian experience, the establishment of a
press council in the 1960's demonstrated to the Indonesian public that
journalists could regulate themselves in order to sustain press freedom.
"The
council provides an alternative to the legal system in regulating the press.
For example, if you write something that others don't like, the matter can be
brought up to the council's attention to be discussed without involving the
court.
"The
problem at hand will be discussed at a public forum, and the findings made
known to the public and the offending parties be made to offer a public
apology," she said in her talk on 'Press Freedom: Challenges for the
Media- Lessons Learned from Indonesia' at Wisma Bernama today.
Steele,
who was fluent in the Indonesian language, noted that the existence of the
council ensured less interference from the government, hence more freedom for
the press.
She
told the function organised by National Press Club (NPC) Malaysia that the
presence of a press council would also serve as a platform for journalists to
explain to the public about good and bad journalism practices.
A
familiar figure among Malaysian and Indonesian media circles, Steele was a
former Fullbright professor in the American studies programme at the University
of Indonesia from 1997 to 1998.
She
writes a weekly newspaper column called 'E-Mail from America' for 'Surya' daily
in Surabaya.
Present
at today's event was NPC president and Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama)
Domestic News Service deputy editor-in-chief Mokhtar Hussain.
--
BERNAMA
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