Broadcaster TVOne is on the defensive after the National Police on Thursday accused one of its news anchors of paying a man to appear on a talk show posing as a case broker who had supposedly operated at the force’s headquarters.
Police said that in a discussion aired on March 18, Andis Ronaldi, also known as Andi, claimed to be a case broker and spoke of working out of National Police offices.
Spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said police, believing Andi had confessed on television, detained him last month. But he told investigators that he was paid to appear on the show and that his claims were fabricated.
“He pretended to have been a case broker on the show and said he had operated at the National Police for 12 years. The fact is, he was not,” Edward said.
The show came amid heightened public interest in corruption, bribery and case manipulation following the recent publicity surrounding a mid-ranking tax officer Gayus Tambunan’s acquittal for embezzlement after a large sum of money was found in his accounts. It has since been alleged that bribes helped secure a favorable decision in the case.
Edward said Andi had confessed to receiving Rp 1.5 million ($165) from the anchor to pretend to be a former case broker on the show.
Edward said the script for the interview had also been prepared by the anchor, whom he identified only as IR, and given to Andi.
“The fact is that all of the things [Andi] said were false,” he said. “The National Police, as an institution, feels insulted by this fake scenario.”
Broadcasting laws carry up to five years in jail and fines of up to Rp 10 billion for falsifying news.
Edward said IR would soon be summoned for questioning.
Totok Suryanto, TVOne’s general manager for news and sports, denied allegations that the station had fabricated the interview and hired an actor to portray a case broker.
“We never have and we never will,” he said. “Fabricating news and testimony from a source violates the journalistic code of ethics. TVOne is very much against that.”
But Totok did say that the station would conduct an internal investigation into the incident.
“We respect the police assertions, but we don’t yet know who this person is they arrested. We need to make sure that he really is the person who came to our studio and made those claims,” he said.
Agus Sudibyo, head of public complaints and ethics enforcement at the Press Council, confirmed that the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) had officially reported TVOne on Thursday for allegedly hiring a fake case broker.
“We will investigate the case and we will summon the TV station immediately,” he said, “then we will decide on how to react in this case based on the journalists’ code.”
Agus said that should the allegation prove to be true, TVOne should make a pubic apology to its viewers.
Imam Wahyudi, chairman of the Indonesian Television Journalists’ Association, said any media organization or journalist found committing such fraud would face strict sanctions, such as expulsion from the group.
“Journalism is all about integrity and reputation — once it’s tainted, people lose their trust and the media organization or the journalist could lose their credibility forever,” he said.
“Even worse, their mistake would serve as an example in every training and educational program that we conduct as what not to do in journalism.” Dessy Sagita & Farouk Arnaz
Police said that in a discussion aired on March 18, Andis Ronaldi, also known as Andi, claimed to be a case broker and spoke of working out of National Police offices.
Spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said police, believing Andi had confessed on television, detained him last month. But he told investigators that he was paid to appear on the show and that his claims were fabricated.
“He pretended to have been a case broker on the show and said he had operated at the National Police for 12 years. The fact is, he was not,” Edward said.
The show came amid heightened public interest in corruption, bribery and case manipulation following the recent publicity surrounding a mid-ranking tax officer Gayus Tambunan’s acquittal for embezzlement after a large sum of money was found in his accounts. It has since been alleged that bribes helped secure a favorable decision in the case.
Edward said Andi had confessed to receiving Rp 1.5 million ($165) from the anchor to pretend to be a former case broker on the show.
Edward said the script for the interview had also been prepared by the anchor, whom he identified only as IR, and given to Andi.
“The fact is that all of the things [Andi] said were false,” he said. “The National Police, as an institution, feels insulted by this fake scenario.”
Broadcasting laws carry up to five years in jail and fines of up to Rp 10 billion for falsifying news.
Edward said IR would soon be summoned for questioning.
Totok Suryanto, TVOne’s general manager for news and sports, denied allegations that the station had fabricated the interview and hired an actor to portray a case broker.
“We never have and we never will,” he said. “Fabricating news and testimony from a source violates the journalistic code of ethics. TVOne is very much against that.”
But Totok did say that the station would conduct an internal investigation into the incident.
“We respect the police assertions, but we don’t yet know who this person is they arrested. We need to make sure that he really is the person who came to our studio and made those claims,” he said.
Agus Sudibyo, head of public complaints and ethics enforcement at the Press Council, confirmed that the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) had officially reported TVOne on Thursday for allegedly hiring a fake case broker.
“We will investigate the case and we will summon the TV station immediately,” he said, “then we will decide on how to react in this case based on the journalists’ code.”
Agus said that should the allegation prove to be true, TVOne should make a pubic apology to its viewers.
Imam Wahyudi, chairman of the Indonesian Television Journalists’ Association, said any media organization or journalist found committing such fraud would face strict sanctions, such as expulsion from the group.
“Journalism is all about integrity and reputation — once it’s tainted, people lose their trust and the media organization or the journalist could lose their credibility forever,” he said.
“Even worse, their mistake would serve as an example in every training and educational program that we conduct as what not to do in journalism.” Dessy Sagita & Farouk Arnaz
