Reformasi, vulnerable values and the regulation of television in Indonesia

This paper charts the recent history of the media regulation debate in Indonesia and examines constructive tensions over regulatory values and policies which reformasi has made possible. A comparative textual analysis of two draft bills, one proposed by the state bureaucracy, and the other by parliamentary representatives, throws into relief tensions which define reformasi: namely, the tension between an authoritarian state system intent on shaping cultural development, and an invigorated public intent on asserting its rights of freedom of expression. This paper will focus on just three sets of values which the present legislative disarray and commercial pressures have made vulnerable: diversity, cultural identity, and the role of the public.