Media (TV) Paradoxes in Constructing Information & Reality

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Day by day we are used to confusing TV program entitled reality show. In this country such a program dominate top class of program attracting more viewers anyway than news program. It is obviously a bad dream for media since creativity has been mislead to deceiving vision. Engineered inventiveness brings out delusive opinion to the public as if we are displayed by a tangible-sensible-matters. Such manufactured reality is unable to compare with actuality or authenticity miserably beyond laity poor hand on media’s engineering.

TV is enjoying its hegemony to determine what should be highlighted, as if they just point who or what will become the next prey. In spite of offering actual information or meaningful knowledge, TV becomes a trap of illusion by presenting tricky reality demonstrating in the way of movie production. TV has failed to play its role as communication and information means for people. Its misconducts by putting aside beneficial role have constrained beneficial influence for viewers alongside this country.

Notorious conflict of interests possibly signify the lost of idealistic journalism from the face of our recent media. Impacted by capital conglomeration and patronage culture media eliminate creative reporting and deepen investigation as to dynamic exploration of both facts and news’ sources. Supported by unlimited fundraising, media become selective to filter information for their own sake – of course on behalf of capital interest.


Despite put ahead public interest, media prefer to dramatize various level of life without assessing its impact to public, even to demoralize or dehumanize the poor and the suffer. Using several potential-hot issues, media plays its creative-independent role to attack certain focal subjects. Among those included in main target of media, government and public figure and all-embroidered issues largely put as object of reportage – usually from one-side point of view.

Crackdown of genuine inspiration to go beyond phenomenon in order to find underlying problems bring out broadcast time as demonstrating superficial facts, flash news or even one-side reports. On the other hand, entertainment TV starts to play with viewer imagination. All manners of dramatization, exaggeration, and ‘objectivation’ presumably are able to catch more attention and more entertaining at once than coverage on several essential issues such as poverty, climate change, economics and development challenges etc. Public who fail to figure out the core need of media have been ensnared to imaginary idea of TV crews. Then it will be fruitful in building new standpoint in mentality, looking at those who are dupe of media as the sinners, the worthy-of-punishment without internalizing the information as a learning subject or stared-on medium for themselves.

Kalau Media Melakukan Pembohongan Publik

Beberapa hari belakangan media sedang asyik-asyiknya menyoroti tema pembohongan publik. Dua petinggi negara menjadi obyek bahasan. Mereka adalah Kapolri dan Jaksa Agung. Menurut media, keduanya dipandang telah membohongi publik terkait pernyataan mereka sebelumnya bahwa ada bukti rekaman pembicaraan antara Ari Muladi dan Ade Raharja. Kasusnya gk perlu dijelaskan lagi, bukan??!!
Media terlihat benar-benar menikmati gelombang isu ini. Polri dan Kejagung benar2 menjadi sasaran tembak tanpa pelindung, meski klarifikasi demi klarifikasi telah dilakukan. Posisi mereka dalam kasus ini memang rentan pemberitaan negatif.
BTW, apa yang terjadi jika media melakukan pembohongan publik? Mungkin hal ini akan lebih mudah. Sebaris permintaan maaf or ralat via running teks, senyum manis news anchor atau presenter dengan mimik penyesalan mengurai beberapa baris kata maaf kepada pemirsa mungkin akan menjadi penyelesaian. Simple kan??!! Apa itu bukan pembohongan publik???
Itulah yang terjadi dengan sebuah stasiun tv nasional. Sejak jauh hari tv ini telah mengiklankan pertandingan bergengsi piala super Spanyol antara Barcelona (klub favoritku) vs Sevilla pada hari minggu (15/8) dini hari, tepatnya pukul 03.00 WIB. Nah, setelah lama tidak melihat tim kesayanganku bertanding, saya pun berjuang untuk begadang hingga jam 3.00 berselang. Beberapa menit menjelang waktu kick-off tiba-tiba kedua presenter menyampaikan permohonan maaf karena stasiun tv tersebut tidak dapat menyiarkan pertandingan dimaksud dengan alasan yg kurang jelas. Bayangkan, sudah begadang, pembatalan dilakukan cuma beberapa menit sebelum pertandingan dimulai, bisa dibayangkan kecewanya penonton seperti saya.
Nah, apa tindakan seperti ini bukan pembohongan publik??? Apa pembatalan pada menit-menit terakhir tanpa alasan jelas bisa sepadan dengan kebohongan yang telah berdampak sedikit maupun besar bagi pemirsa? Kapolri yang membatalkan pelantikan sejumlah PATI Polri pada waktu2 terakhir langsung menjadi obyek serangan media. Isu2 tak sedap pun dimunculkan - entah terkait secara langsung atau tidak. Tapi itulah posisi media yang sulit diganggu gugat. Dapat menyerang siapa dan apa pun tapi seolah2 menjadi the untouchtable.
NB. Sebagai pemirsa, saya cukup sopan untuk tidak menyebut nama stasiun TV tsb. hehehe