Metro TV, tvOne involved in religious polarisation discourse in dissimilar ways, report says

Remotivi just published research about the communities of marginal religions in Indonesia and how media influence them. According to the research, Metro TV and tvOne are both involved in religious polarisation, but in dissimilar ways. 

Politicisation of religions and media ownership are seen as the reason why religious polarisation may also lead to the polarisation between notable media outlets.

Indonesia is a multicultural country with a lot of religions and ethnicities. Islam, Christian, Catholic, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism are recognised as the “official” religions in the country. Indonesia also has 187 other beliefs which are estimated to be held by 12 million citizens, including Shia Islam and Ahmadiyya. 

Some conflicts emerged as the result of this. Looking back, since the colonial era, we have noticed how Indonesia's cultural diversity has been politicised, leading to various conflicts. To add, a lot of political parties proliferated during the post-Suharto era, and ideologically, they can be divided into two categories: Islamic parties and nationalist parties. This suggests that religions and politics are closely intertwined in Indonesia. 

The dominant pattern in these conflicts can be divided into three groups: conflicts between recognised religions, conflicts between Islamic sects and conflicts between Islamic and other belief believers. The conflicts usually involve power imbalance between dominant and minority/marginalised groups.

It can be stated that mass media as the main source of information also take part in this kind of religious polarisation discourse. Notable media are mostly considered secular, but many secular media have also adopted Islamic values to meet the demand of their growing Muslim market, leading to the commodification of Islam in the media industry.

The controversies surrounding the 2014 and 2019 elections in Indonesia can be seen as concrete examples. In 2014, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) was appointed as the governor of Jakarta, but due to his minority identities, him being Christian and Chinese, he received a lot of backlash from the Islamic community, for instance the Islamic Defender Front (FPI). 

The 2019 general elections had also become a very contested area between the hard-line Islamic groups in Prabowo's camp and the relatively more secular Jokowi's camp. This political polarisation still occurs until today.

tvOne and ANTV, managed by the Viva Group and owned by Aburizal Bakrie, the politician who supported Prabowo's candidacy, tend to report news that favour radical Islamic audiences. They are known to report violence faced by marginalised groups, as they broadcast news about the condemnation of deviant and illegal Shia groups, or lectures stating that in Islam, homosexual groups are punishable by death.

On the other hand, MetroTV, which is owned by Surya Paloh, is more secular and liberal and tends to report news about Shia groups in a more neutral tone. MetroTV is also known as the only TV station that broadcasts news about other beliefs. In the editorial piece titled “Pengakuan Semu atas Aliran Kepercayaan” or “Pseudo-Confessions of Beliefs” in English, MetroTV criticises the state's administrative recognition that did not include the protection and elimination of discrimination. They say that the state tends to “succumb to the pressure of the intolerant masses”. This news emerged as the result of the forced closure of the Sunda Wiwitan ancestors’ graves following pressure from conservative Islamic groups.

According to the report, 48% of the marginalised religious groups tend to trust and rely on MetroTV. On the other hand, 40% non-marginalised groups trust and tend to be more inclined towards tvOne. 

Remotivi also revealed two significant findings about how minority and marginal religions are being reported in the media. First, news about minority and marginal religious groups are mainly focused on conflict related to them and their celebration. Second, when reporting conflicts, marginal religious groups are often positioned as the victim. Both points are seen as problematic. 

Despite the importance of conflict reporting in order to inform the public about the real condition of religious freedom in Indonesia, if not done well, it can actually exacerbate and further perpetuate the conflict. 

Reporting news about celebrations also has its own problems. It perpetuates the idea of “artificial diversity” that has dominated Indonesian media culture since the New Order regime. It simplifies diversity into physical signs (clothing, buildings, symbols and ornaments) to provide a picture of peaceful coexistence (religious leaders congratulate each other during celebrations) while underestimating social and cultural issues that have the potential to foster interreligious conflict.