Journalistic Code of Ethics

Journalistic Code of Ethics

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 are independent, produce news that is accurate, balanced, and does not have bad intentions.

Interpretation:

  1. Independent means reporting events or facts according to one’s conscience without interference, coercion or intervention from other parties, including the owners of press companies.
  2. Accurate means believed to be true according to the objective circumstances when the event occurred.
  3. Balanced means that all parties get equal opportunities.
  4. Not acting in bad faith means there is no intention to intentionally and solely cause harm to another party.

Article 2

Indonesian journalists use professional methods in carrying out their journalistic duties.

Interpretation:

Professional ways are:

  1. show your identity to the source;
  2. respect the right to privacy;
  3. do not bribe;
  4. produce factual news with clear sources;
  5. engineering of taking and loading or broadcasting images, photos, sound accompanied by information about the source and displayed in a balanced manner;
  6. respecting the traumatic experiences of the source in the presentation of images, photos, sound;
  7. not plagiarize, including stating the results of coverage by other journalists as one’s own work;
  8. The use of certain methods may 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 presumption of innocence.

Interpretation:

  1. Testing information means checking and rechecking the truth of the information.
  2. Balanced means giving space or time for reporting to each party proportionally.
  3. A judgmental opinion is the journalist’s personal opinion. This differs from an interpretive opinion, which is the journalist’s interpretation of the facts.
  4. The principle of presumption of innocence is the principle of not judging someone.

Article 4

Indonesian journalists do not create fake, slanderous, sadistic, or obscene news.

Interpretation:

  1. A lie means something that is known in advance by the journalist as not being in accordance with the facts that occurred.
  2. Slander means baseless accusations made intentionally with bad intentions.
  3. Sadistic means cruel and without mercy.
  4. Obscene means depicting erotic behavior with photos, images, sounds, graphics or writing solely to arouse lust.
  5. When broadcasting images and sound from archives, journalists include the time the images and sound 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:

  1. Identity is all data and information concerning a person that makes it easier for other people to track them.
  2. A child is a person who is under 16 years old and not yet married.

Article 6

Indonesian journalists do not abuse their profession and do not accept bribes.

Interpretation:

  1. Abusing a profession is any action that takes personal advantage of information obtained while on duty before the information becomes public knowledge.
  2. Bribery is any gift in the form of money, objects or facilities from another party that influences 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:

  1. 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.
  2. An embargo is a delay in publishing or broadcasting news according to the source’s request.
  3. Background information is any information or data from a source that is broadcast or reported without mentioning the source.
  4. 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 someone 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:

  1. Prejudice is an unfavorable assumption about something before knowing clearly.
  2. 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:

    1. Respecting the rights of sources is an attitude of restraint and caution.
    2. Private life is all aspects of a person’s life and that of his family other than those related to public interest.

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Article 10

Indonesian journalists immediately retract, correct, and rectify erroneous and inaccurate news accompanied by an apology to readers, listeners, and/or viewers.

Interpretation:

  1. Immediate means taking action as quickly as possible, whether or not there is a warning from an external party.
  2. An apology is made if the error relates to the main substance.

Article 11

Indonesian journalists serve the right of reply and the right of correction proportionally.

Interpretation:

  1. The right of reply is the right of a person or group of people to provide a response or rebuttal to news reports containing facts that are detrimental to their good name.
  2. The right to correction is the right of every person to correct erroneous information reported by the press, whether about themselves or about other people.
  3. Proportional means equivalent 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

The Journalistic Code of Ethics was established by the Press Council through Press Council Regulation Number: 6/Peraturan-DP/V/2008 concerning the Ratification of Press Council Decree Number 03/SK-DP/III/2006 concerning the Journalistic Code of Ethics as a Press Council Regulation.

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