Freedom of opinion, expression, and the press are human rights protected by Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Press freedom is a means for the public to obtain information and communicate, in order to fulfill fundamental needs and improve the quality of human life. In realizing press freedom, Indonesian journalists also recognize the interests of the nation, social responsibility, societal diversity, and religious norms.
In carrying out its functions, rights, obligations and roles, the press respects the human rights of every person, therefore the press is required to be professional and open to public control.
To guarantee press freedom and fulfill the public’s right to accurate information, Indonesian journalists require a moral and ethical foundation for their profession as operational guidelines for maintaining public trust and upholding integrity and professionalism. To that end, Indonesian journalists have established and adhere to the Journalistic Code of Ethics:
Article 1
Indonesian journalists must be independent, produce news that is accurate, balanced and without bad intentions.
Interpretation
a. Independent means reporting events or facts according to one’s conscience without interference, coercion, or intervention from other parties, including the owner of the press company.
b. Accurate means believed to be true according to the objective circumstances when the event occurred.
c. Balanced means all parties have equal opportunity.
d. Not acting in bad faith means there is no intention, intentionally, or solely, to cause harm to another party.
Article 2
Indonesian journalists shall use professional methods in carrying out journalistic duties.
Interpretation
Professional methods are:
a. showing one’s identity to the source;
b. respecting the right to privacy;
c. not bribing;
d. producing factual news with clear sources;
e. engineering the taking and loading or broadcasting of images, photos, sounds accompanied by information about the source and presented in a balanced manner;
f. respecting the traumatic experiences of sources in presenting images, photos, sounds;
g. not plagiarizing, including stating the results of other journalists’ coverage as one’s own work;
h. the use of certain methods can be considered for investigative news coverage in the public interest.
Article 3
Indonesian journalists always verify information, report in a balanced manner, do not mix facts and judgmental opinions, and apply the principle of the presumption of innocence.
Interpretation
a. Testing information means checking and rechecking the truth of the information.
b. Balanced means giving each party proportional reporting space or time.
c. Judgmental opinions are the journalist’s personal opinions. This differs from interpretive opinions, which are the journalist’s interpretation of the facts.
d. The presumption of innocence is the principle of not judging someone.
Article 4
Indonesian journalists do not create false, slanderous, sadistic or obscene news.
Interpretation
a. Lie means something that is known in advance by the journalist as not in accordance with the facts that occurred.
b. Slander means an unfounded accusation made intentionally with bad intentions.
c. Sadistic means cruel and without mercy.
d. Obscene means depicting erotic behavior with photos, images, sounds, graphics or writing solely to arouse lust.
e. In broadcasting images and sounds from archives, journalists include the time the images and sounds were taken.
Article 5
Indonesian journalists do not mention or broadcast the identities of victims of sexual crimes and do not mention the identities of children who are perpetrators of crimes.
Interpretation
a. Identity is all data and information concerning a person that makes it easier for others to track them.
b. A child is a person under 16 years of age and unmarried.
Article 6
Indonesian journalists do not abuse their profession and do not accept bribes.
Interpretation
a. Abusing a profession is any act of taking personal advantage of information obtained while on duty before the information becomes public knowledge.
b. Bribery is any gift in the form of money, objects, or facilities from another party that affects independence.
Article 7
Indonesian journalists have the right to refuse to protect sources who do not want their identity or whereabouts to be known, respecting embargo provisions, background information, and “off the record” in accordance with the agreement.
Interpretation
a. The right to refuse is the right not to reveal the identity and whereabouts of a source for the safety of the source and his/her family.
b. An embargo is a postponement of the publication or broadcast of news according to the source’s request.
c. Background information is any information or data from a source that is broadcast or reported without mentioning the source.
d. “Off the record” is any information or data from a source that may not be broadcast or reported.
Article 8
Indonesian journalists do not write or broadcast news based on prejudice or discrimination against a person on the basis of differences in ethnicity, race, skin color, religion, gender and language and do not demean the dignity of the weak, poor, sick, mentally or physically disabled.
Interpretation
a. Prejudice is a negative assumption about something before knowing it clearly.
b. Discrimination is a difference in treatment.
Article 9
Indonesian journalists respect the rights of sources regarding their private lives, except in the public interest.
Interpretation
a. Respecting the rights of sources is an attitude of restraint and caution.
b. Private life is all aspects of a person’s life and that of their family other than those related to the public interest.
Article 10
Indonesian journalists must immediately retract, correct and rectify erroneous and inaccurate news accompanied by an apology to readers, listeners and/or viewers.
Interpretation
a. Immediately means taking action as quickly as possible, whether or not there is a warning from an external party.
b. An apology is given if the error is related to the main substance.
Article 11
Indonesian journalists serve the right of reply and the right of correction proportionally.
Interpretation
a. The right of reply is the right of an individual or group of individuals to provide a response or rebuttal to news reports containing facts that are detrimental to their reputation.
b. The right of correction is the right of every individual to correct erroneous information reported by the press, whether about themselves or others.
c. Proportional means equal to the part of the news that needs to be corrected.
The Press Council makes the final assessment of violations of the journalistic code of ethics. Sanctions for violations of the journalistic code of ethics are imposed by journalist organizations and/or press companies.
Jakarta, Tuesday, March 14, 2006
