Freedom of opinion, expression and the press are human rights protected by Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Freedom of the press is a means for society to obtain information and communicate, in order to fulfill essential needs and improve the quality of human life. In realizing press freedom, Indonesian journalists are also aware of the nation's interests, social responsibility, societal diversity and religious norms.
In carrying out its functions, rights, obligations and roles, the press respects everyone's human rights, therefore the press is required to be professional and open to control by society.
To guarantee press freedom and fulfill the public's right to obtain correct information, Indonesian journalists need a moral foundation and professional ethics as operational guidelines in maintaining public trust and upholding integrity and professionalism. On that basis, Indonesian journalists establish and comply with the Journalistic Code of Ethics:
Article 1
Indonesian journalists are independent, produce news that is accurate, balanced and not in bad faith.
Interpretation
Independent means reporting events or facts according to one's conscience without interference, coercion or interference from other parties, including press company owners.
Accurate means believed to be true according to the objective circumstances when the event occurred.
Balance means that all parties get equal opportunities.
Not having bad faith means that there is no intention intentionally and solely to cause harm to another party.
Article 2
Indonesian journalists use professional methods in carrying out journalistic duties.
Interpretation
Professional methods are:
- show your identity to the source;
- respect the right to privacy;
- not bribe;
- produce news that is factual and has clear sources;
- engineering for taking and loading or broadcasting images, photos, sound, accompanied by information about the source and displayed in a balanced manner;
- respecting the source's traumatic experience in presenting images, photos, sounds;
- not plagiarize, including declaring the results of other journalists' coverage as their own work;
- the use of certain methods may be considered for investigative news coverage in the public interest.
Article 3
Indonesian journalists always test information, report in a balanced manner, do not mix facts and judgmental opinions, and apply the principle of presumption of innocence.
Interpretation
- Testing information means checking and rechecking the truth of the information.
- Balance means providing space or time for reporting to each party in a proportional manner.
- Opinion judge is the personal opinion of a journalist. This is different from interpretive opinion, namely opinion in the form of a journalist's interpretation of facts.
- The principle of presumption of innocence is the principle of not judging someone.
Article 4
Indonesian journalists do not create fake, slanderous, sadistic and obscene news.
Interpretation
- A lie means something that the journalist already knows is something that is not in accordance with the facts of what happened.
- Slander means baseless accusations made intentionally with bad intentions.
- Sadistic means the cruel and relentless.
- Obscene means depicting erotic behavior with photos, images, sounds, graphics or writing that is solely intended to arouse lust.
- In broadcasting images and sound from archives, journalists include the time when the image and sound were taken.
Article 5
Indonesian journalists do not mention and broadcast the identities of victims of immoral crimes and do not mention the identities of children who are perpetrators of crimes.
Interpretation
- Identity is all data and information relating to a person that makes it easier for other people to track him.
- A child is someone who is less than 16 years old and unmarried.
Article 6
Indonesian journalists do not abuse their profession and do not accept bribes.
Interpretation
- Misusing the profession is any action that takes personal advantage of information obtained while on duty before the information becomes public knowledge.
- 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 whose identity or whereabouts they do not wish to be known, respecting embargo provisions, background information and off the record in accordance with the agreement.
Interpretation
- The right to refuse is the right not to reveal the identity and whereabouts of a source for the safety of the source and their family.
- An embargo is a delay in loading or broadcasting news according to a source's request.
- Background information is any information or data from a source that is broadcast or reported without mentioning the source.
- Off the record is any information or data from a source that cannot be broadcast or reported.
Article 8
Indonesian journalists do not write or broadcast news based on prejudice or discrimination against someone based on differences in ethnicity, race, skin color, religion, gender and language and do not demean the dignity of the weak, poor, sick, mentally handicapped or physically handicapped.
Interpretation
- Prejudice is an unfavorable assumption about something before knowing clearly.
- Discrimination is a difference in treatment.
Article 9
Indonesian journalists respect the rights of sources regarding their private lives, except for public interests.
Interpretation
- Respecting the rights of sources is an attitude of restraint and caution.
- Private life is all aspects of a person and their family's life other than those related to public interests.
Article 10
Indonesian journalists immediately retract, rectify and correct erroneous and inaccurate news accompanied by an apology to readers, listeners and/or viewers.
Interpretation
- Immediate means taking action as quickly as possible, whether or not there is a warning from outside parties.
- The apology was delivered when the error associated with the main substance.
Article 11
Indonesian journalists serve the right of reply and the right of correction proportionally.
Interpretation
- The right of reply is the right of a person or group of people to provide a response or rebuttal to news reports in the form of facts that are detrimental to their good name.
- The right of correction is the right of every person to correct erroneous information reported by the press, both about himself and about others.
- Proportional means equivalent to the news section that needs to be repaired.
The final assessment of violations of the journalistic code of ethics is carried out by the Press Council. Sanctions for violations of the journalistic code of ethics are carried out by journalist organizations and/or press companies.
