Central Java’s assault on media ethics: How the governor turned watchdogs into pet poodles

Abstract

This study examines the coverage of Indonesia's main newspapers, Suara Merdeka and Radar Semarang (Jawa Pos group), about the Governor of Central Java, Indonesia, Ganjar Pranowo, in 2016, during his midterm period in leading the province. It highlights how the Governor, who initially removed help for journalists, became a figure that journalists like. The qualitative content analysis of 20 articles that took part in the journalism competition for journalists held by Public Relations Bureau Regional Secretary of Central Java Province showed that the news stopped at Ganjar Pranowo without trying to find deeper meaning from the field. The news frames used by the newspapers reflected that journalists who are members of the Press Club at the Central Java Provincial Secretariat Bureau were reluctant to be critical toward Ganjar Pranowo. Ganjar Pranowo was portrayed solely in the context of his success in leading Central Java based on assumptions made by journalists. The newspapers is no longer a neutral agent, but is rather tendentious. Unlike in other countries, in Central Java the Press Club is not beneficial for the development of democracy and the establishment of journalists.