Journalism Cultures in Indonesia Differ in Autonomy, Ethics, Roles, and Institutions
Abstract
This study examines Indonesian journalism culture using aggregated country-level data from the Worlds of Journalism Study Wave 2 (WJS2). It focuses on four main dimensions: editorial autonomy, ethical orientation, journalistic roles, and institutional influences. Methodologically, the study applies quantitative secondary data analysis through descriptive statistics, cross-national comparison, z-score standardization, country ranking, and composite profiling. Since the WJS2 data are available at the country level, this study does not seek to draw individual-level causal inferences, but rather to map Indonesia’s comparative position within the global distribution of journalism cultures. The findings show that Indonesian journalism is marked by a hybrid professional culture. Indonesian journalists strongly endorse professional codes of ethics and factual reporting, indicating a relatively solid normative professional identity. However, they also report limited editorial autonomy, particularly in selecting stories and determining which aspects of stories should be emphasized. Role-orientation results suggest that Indonesian journalism cannot be fully explained through the liberal-watchdog model, as factual reporting, political monitoring, and support for national development coexist. Thus, Indonesian journalism culture can be understood as ethically normative, factually oriented, developmentally aware, and institutionally constrained. The article contributes to comparative journalism studies by positioning Indonesia in debates on professionalism, autonomy, and contemporary media change.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.32509/pustakom.v9i2.7501
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