19 May 2011

Reflections on media and social accountability: The case of Kendari TV and Radio Swara Alam

by A’o Dode
“…we at Kendari TV and Radio Swara Alam exert extra effort to serve as [Kendari society’s] diffusion agents.”
Social accountability is about the commitment to be accountable for plans and actions. It involves many stakeholders—like [the executive and legislative branches of] the government and citizens, which, of course, includes the media.

In my work as a media practitioner, I couldn’t help but notice that the perceived role of media here in Indonesia is to mediate or serve as a bridge in dealing with the interests and needs of the public. This, however, does not seem to suffice because of the [generally] passive characteristic of the citizens in Kendari city. There is a need to make people more connected to the media in order for our work to be more effective.