Abstracts & Bio Notes - Asian Studies Association of Australia

argues that oversimplified analyses of voters’ rationality have yielded misapprehensions
concerning the unique characteristics of Indonesian voters. Ultimately, the dominant
deployment of scientific approach (episteme) in undertaking polls has overlooked contexts,
values, and praxis of voters as well as the issue of power among pollsters.
Bionote: Wawan Sobari is a lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Brawijaya University
in Malang, Indonesia. He gained B.A in Political Science in 1999 from the Department of
Government Studies, Padjadjaran University, Bandung, Indonesia. Wawan obtained MA in
Development Studies with specialisation in Public Policy and Management from the
International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), the Netherlands in 2006. Currently he is pursuing
a Research Higher Degree Program in the Department of Politics and Public Policy, Flinders
University, Australia. His project focuses on local elections (pilkada), especially on policy
behaviour, informal governance practices, and voter behaviour. In addition, Wawan is a Senior
Researcher at the Jawa Pos Institute of Pro-Otonomi (JPIP). JPIP is an independent and nonprofit
organisation funded by Jawa Pos (the biggest newspaper group in Indonesia) centring its
activities on research and advocacy to promote progressive decentralisation in Indonesia.
(soba0001@flinders.edu.au)
TAPSELL, Ross (The Australian National University)
Title: Convergence and Media Freedom in Indonesia
Abstract: The media industries in Indonesia are currently undergoing profound change due to the
convergence of 'old' and 'new' media. Media companies which previously only specialised in
one platform (such as print, radio, television or online) are now forming larger, multi-platform
media conglomerates. Media owners are creating multi-platform “news services”. Previously
separate offices of newspapers and television stations are being synchronised. Journalists are
renamed as “content providers”, and editors “curators” of this content. Citizen journalism,
where the general public takes on the role of journalists and reports information, is fast
becoming incorporated into mainstream news media content, increasingly produced for
mobile devices such as the iPad, iPhone or Blackberry. Sensing a drastic change in the media
landscape, the Indonesian government began drafting a Convergence Bill (RUU Konvergensi
Telematika).This process of convergence provides a ‘fork in the road’ for media freedom in
Indonesia. It is providing an opportunity for information to become more concentrated,
controlled and cartelised. Convergence is also providing greater diversity of opinion and
expression through a variety of platforms and mediums, particularly involving social media and
citizen journalism. The central aim of this paper is to discuss the broader implications for
media freedom in Indonesia in this "new era" of media convergence.
Bionote: Dr Ross Tapsell is a lecturer in the School of Culture, History and Language at the College
of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University. He has been a Visiting Fellow at The
University of Indonesia, Airlangga University (Surabaya) and the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies (Jakarta). He has also worked with The Jakarta Post and the Lombok Post.
He researches on press freedom in Southeast Asia. (ross.tapsell@anu.edu.au)
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