Owner Influence and Media Competition: Small note on Metro Tv vs. TV One
For years, Metro TV has dominated the one and only channel news program in Indonesia. However, for the last two years, TV One has shown up to produce and broadcast news. The establishment of TV One has become a serious competitor to Metro TV in providing news channel in Indonesia’s television Industry.
As the similar channel news program, both channels are competing each other to provide actual, accurate and credible news. It is interesting how they try to persuade the viewer to watch their channel. They try to produce something different in broadcasting news in order to take viewer segmentation in news channel. TV One as new comer channel news has to develop different, fresh and unique news program to compete with ‘grown up’ channel news TV, Metro TV. Therefore, observing both channels will give us better understanding the difference between those two.
Having watched both channels lately, there are several fundamental things which differentiate them. Understanding the owner of the channel does matter to compare both channels. It is widely known that Metro TV is owned by Surya Paloh, leading media industry entrepreneur, while Aburizal Bakrie establishes TV One. Both of them were competing to lead Golkar Party which was won by Bakrie, recently. Apparently, the competition is not only occurred within the Forum but also spreading to the media they owned.
Metro TV in its publication tends to cornering Aburizal Bakrie especially when it touches Lapindo’s case. Metro TV is highly blaming the mud case to Lapindo Brantas messy exploitation and gives attention to the victim that has been ignored by the company. Metro TV usually called the case as ‘Lapindo Mud’ ( Lumpur Lapindo) that is directly referred to the company. On the contrary, the publication of TV One is quite different when the Lapindo case appears. TV one tends to avoid the case by keeping the issue low profile. Nonetheless, when it has to publish the news, the publication tends to blame on natural disaster and the government should have provided aids to the victims. It also called the case as Sidoardjo Mud (Lumpur Sidoardjo) which is referred to the geography.
Bakrie even has sentimental view on Metro TV. He directly refused to answer the question from Metro TV reporter when he was interviewed after the seminar event held by Golkar. Meanwhile, TV One is widely published the demonstration of papandayan hotel workers regarding the unpaid wages. Papandayan hotel in bandung is owned by Surya Paloh. Oh the other side, Papandayan’s case is only low issue in Metro TV. from this point, there are tendency that TV One and Metro TV is being used on behalf of its owner to spread their influence and spoil the other.
