Indonesia in the Eyes of Australians through Media Coverage (A Qualitative Study about How Australians Portrays Indonesia)

Abstract

Media reality, by far, tends to construct how people see things despite the objective reality. Indonesia, for this case, is a country that is known as its many conflicts and disasters through media coverage globally. Australia, as its neighbour, has also come to have some conclusions about Indonesia through the Australian Media, which then gives a sense of knowledge about Indonesia. The purpose of this research is to acknowledge how Australian Media portrays Indonesian and how the Australians perceive Indonesia because of it. This qualitative research conducted interviews with some Australians that are concerned about Indonesia.

The result of the study concludes that the media portrays Indonesia less as a tourists place, even though it was advertised repeatedly but more like an unorganized, chaotic place for pedestrians and commuters. Indonesia is seen as a country full of disasters and conflicts which signals that the country needs a hand from Australia. It is seen as a violent and dangerous place.

Despite the media coverage of Indonesia, and their agreement of Indonesia as a chaotic and dangerous place, Australians still consider Indonesia as a beautiful tourist place to go. Most believe that Indonesia is a young nation that is still developing, and as a young nation, it often has many issues, so it tends to be unorganized. The media has succeeded to portray Indonesia as it is.