Development Journalism: State versus Practitioner Perspectives in Indonesia

Indonesia’s New Order Government (1966–1998) commonly characterized Indonesian journalists as co-operating fraternally with government to develop the great family of the nation, in contrast to the watchdog style of Western journalists. A survey of Indonesian journalists found that although the New Order attempted to establish a coherent press model, suited to local cultures and economic prerogatives, respondents conceived their role in markedly different terms. Eighty per cent were even more critical of restrictions imposed by the government under the guise of ‘culturally appropriate’ values than they were of Western concepts. They described their role models as those brave enough to expose government faults. Even journalists who approximated the New Order’s vision of their nation-building role overwhelmingly rejected the press-as-government-partner perspective.