Waingapu, East Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA) – Radio stations will remain the backbone of information dissemination in rural and remote regions of the country, Commissioner of the Indonesia Broadcasting Commission (KPI) Nuning Rodiyah has said.
“As some regions are yet to receive Internet and television coverage, radio broadcasts will remain the backbone to fulfill residents’ need for information,” she remarked during a visit to local radio station Max 96.9 FM in Waingapu, East Sumba District, East Nusa Tenggara, on Thursday.
Rodiyah said that radio stations are among the most trusted media platforms because according to KPI data, the rate of false information and hoaxes broadcast by radio stations is only 0.3 percent, compared with 8.7 percent for television channels and an even higher percentage for social media.
“It is a certainty that residents will not abandon radio services because radio broadcasts will survive in any conditions,” she said.
Radio broadcasts also have a higher engagement and interaction rate among listeners and broadcasters compared with other media platforms, the commissioner noted.
Radio listeners are accustomed to the radio environment, such as broadcasting studios and radio announcers with whom they interact daily, she said. Thus, their interactions are different from those on television, Internet, or social media platforms, she remarked.
“Listeners who call the radio can be easily identified, and disseminated information can be traced to the announcer, while on social media, we have no idea whether the account has been verified or not,” Rodiyah said.
KPI has provided inputs to the authorities regarding the enforcement of the Broadcasting Law to ensure equity in the supervision process, the commissioner said while adding that at present, control over social media as an information provider remains low despite a strict regulatory code being enforced on television and radio stations.
“Regulatory control over social media remains lax as pornographic content and hoaxes remain in circulation without restriction, while radio services have been successful in maintaining 0.7-percent hoax percentage,” Rodiyah highlighted.
Source: Antara News