Online Media Guideline Aims to Bolster Integrity of Online News Sites

The Indonesian Press Council earlier this month released a guideline or a code of conduct for online media outlets which had been in discussion for several months. Called the Cyber Media News Coverage Guidelines, it aims to drive online media outlets to perform within an agreed specific set of rules to ensure journalistic integrity and values are upheld.

Online news outlets had been driven primarily by breaking news so much that often verification efforts no longer seem to matter. It's not a rarity that we would see a handful of stories covering a single subject with only a single source and a single paragraph being the only differentiating factor between the stories.

The set of guidelines released by the Press Council hopes to address issues such as these which had been plaguing online news portals for quite some time. It wants each story to be verified with multiple sources whenever possible and to note that an effort had been made to do so when a source is not forthcoming. A secondary source is not deemed necessary when the primary source is considered credible and competent.

It also places responsibility over user generated content on site owners in that they are expected to insist on visitors to register as members before being able to leave comments or publish their own content. Members are also expected to agree that their uploaded content do not  carry baseless accusations, slander, lie, prejudice, hatred or discrimination.

Sites also "reserve the right to edit or delete the user generated content that is deemed in violation." If any violation is found, the site must ensure that the content gets amended or removed to comply with the guideline within 48 hours. Sites that comply with the guideline will not be held liable for violations within user generated content.

CEO Burson Marsteller Indonesia, a global public relations company, Mayang Schreiber, had this to say about the media guideline, "This is a brave move and an important step in the Indonesian media scene, certainly paving the way for responsible and credible reporting. I see this in a rather more positive outlook in promoting and creating responsible journalism, rather than limiting the freedom of press."

However, she said that certain points and terms within the guidelines still leave room for interpretations. "The terms “media”, “journalism practice”, “user generated content”, “news content”, and “cyber media” needs to be clearly determined, since nowadays almost every individual in the country can disseminate and forward information through social media without further, if any, verification. Audience can easily forward and comment on an issue that can lead to unethical conducts due to unclear parameters."

While this set of guidelines were released with news outlets in mind and meant for specific organizations, many of its points can clearly be applied to non-mainstream media and especially social media. Being a niche news site, DailySocial is closely paying attention to the development and application of these guidelines.

Enda Nasution, Managing Director of salingsilang, a company focused on monitoring the social media scene in Indonesia, thinks that the guideline does not carry power of enforcement. "It is intended for media companies that recently were forced to have online channels. It's supposed to make it easier if you are not sure or just started, but does not carry any power to enforce it. And there are no legal guarantees from prosecution if we follow it."

As to whom this guideline applies to, he says, "Indonesian press law states that if you are performing journalistic tasks then you fall under its rules and protection even if you are not a media company, and this include individual blogs, organizational blogs, etc."