The recent presidential visit of President of Republic Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, commonly known as SBY, to his Australian counterpart PM Kevin Rudd has grabbed the attention of mass media in both countries. Not only that they positively highlighted potential development in bilateral cooperation resulted from the presidential meetings, but also the gifts exchanged at the end of the visit as SBY presented a packet of ‘civet coffee’ while Rudd showed his appreciation through a wooden guitar with the president’s initial name curved on it.
The coffee gift became a topic of debate as media reported that the the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service insisted on performing a screening test on the memento according to the standard operating procedure of the department. A foreign affairs editor of ABC described that the choice of gift “has raised a few eyebrows” while Sydney Morning Herald reported that the gift “has caused a fair bit of chatter” and “risked breaching Australia's quarantine rules” due to the hygiene issue. Moslem Community of Australia also voiced their opinion on the appropriateness of consuming coffee that has passed through an animal digestive and excrementing process concerning on the ‘halal’ status of the product.
Presenting a bag of civet coffee to an Indonesian would not cause such a big fuss as civet coffee is widely known for its exclusive and special qualities, while in some other countries the appreciation of the same product might be based on different standard. The case above illustrates how media plays a vital role in constructing people’s opinion upon a particular incident. A just reporting (of media) could in fact avoid arbitration due to social and cultural contradictions. There are at least 2 approaches need to be taken into account in news making . First, that media should refer to the ideology it represents in news making, and second, that media should demonstrate a goodwill in its reporting.
What kind of ideological practice carried out in the reporting of the presidential gift exchange? Croteau and Hoynes (2003, p. 160) assert that “the key is the fit between images and words in a specific media text and ways of thinking about, even defining, social and cultural issue.” In viewing an occurrence, public rely largely on the way media presents the information. Sociologist Stuart Hall highlights, as quoted by Croteau and Hoynes (p. 168), media “re-present” and involved in the process of creating a particular meaning from an existing fact, or “making things mean”. Knowing that a report could have such a powerful impact, media should consider the assumption or concept that will be established in the reader’s mind upon acquiring the information. In the case of the coffee gift mentioned above, for example, SMH and ABC have attempted to help its reader making informed judgments by supplying them with ample information on how the coffee is valued and highly recognized in both local and international market rather than exaggerating the fact that it is collected through a unique process. This is the responsibility of media that they need to help readers defining the issue properly, as a part of ‘fitting’ the information that accommodate cultural sensitivity. Thus the presentation of the information is perceived as explanative and informative rather than offensive.
The good practice indicated in the discussion of the coffee gift is demonstrated when dealing with the proportion of news coverage that does not exceed the importance the main issues related to the visit. Although as indicated in the news that the examination process may cause inconveniences, both media did not exaggerate the controversy. At this point, both SMH and ABC did not merely promoting controversial perspectives, while in many other cases, media often takes this way that often result in message and image distortion. This is why media is sometimes being criticized as a source of problem (Croteau & Hoyness, 2003, p. 160-162).
In summary, the approach employed by media to present an information is very important in constructing the image developing in public’s mind. As there are a lot of perspectives in viewing a particular issue (Gamson, Croteau, Hoynes & Sasson, 1992), media has the responsibility in disseminate the truth value of the facts and information in just and proper way and demonstrates good practices in helping the public to digest what Roland Barthes said as ‘denotative’ and ‘connotative’ meaning of an information.
References
Croteau, D & Hoynes, W.(2003). Media society: Industries, images and audiences. London: Sage Publications, pp. 159-168
Gamson, W. A. , Croteau, D., Hoynes, W. & Sasson, T. (1992) Media images and the construction of reality. In Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 18, pp. 373-393
Sturken, M & Cartwright, L. (2004). Practices of looking. New York: Oxford UP., pp. 16-30
Image:
http://www.luxurylaunches.com/other_stuff/kopi_luwak_the_worlds_most_highpriced_coffee.php
Online sources:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/change-with-a-few-rough-edges-20100312-q45r.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/12/2844292.htm
http://www.aussiemuslims.com/forums/showthread.php?p=403226
http://www.mediaindonesia.com/read/2010/03/09/128164/15/1/Presiden-Yudhoyono-Terima-Penghargaan-dari-Australia
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