Abstract
“Bad news is good news,” they say. This is the mantra of journalistic practice, which still trapped in the logic of market-oriented media institution. Until today, Indonesian media system is still driven by capitalistic and political motives of many actors especially media owners and political figures. Their domination in Indonesian media environment results in the colonization of media networks by political networks and vice versa. Controversial statements from and conflicts among political elites are “good” food for the media, which would attract audiences to buy their newspapers, watch their television and click on their sensational headlines that functions as a bait. Mass media public spheres are filled with this type of communication. Good News from Indonesia (GNFI) comes onto the surface of Indonesian media landscape to counter the negativity that the current media system holds. This paper analyzes how GNFI delivers its messages and, as an alternative media, uses its various media platform, most of them are online-based, to balance the inequality of communication about Indonesia.
Highlights
The Indonesian mass media, especially that of private national television broadcasters, is politically structured to a great extent
One other national television, TVRI is a Public Broadcasting which is currently having a hard time to compete with private television companies due to minimal protection and inability to adapt to the free market system
When the media is colonized by political and economic powers, we will receive biased media content in favor of those political and economic interests. This is the face of Indonesian mass media that is dominated by media moguls who become active players in Indonesian politics
Summary
The Indonesian mass media, especially that of private national television broadcasters, is politically structured to a great extent. Research from Heychael and Dhona on Television Independence Ahead of the 2014 General Election confirmed these concerns They mentioned that the media has become the “funnel of the owner's political interest”[4]. Heychael and Wibowo, who examined 20 news programs in 10 Indonesian private national televisions, found, crime, corruption and accidents occupied the top three news topics that most frequently broadcasted and received most duration[7]. The top three positions (frequency/duration) for non-Jabodetabek news areas were filled with coverage on crime (34.5%/32.5%), accidents (15.2%/14.4%), and land conflicts (5,6%/5.4%). This paper attempts to analyze the role of Good News from Indonesia (GNFI) as an alternative news source in countering those negative and biased messages
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