The Presumption of Innocence: Interpretation and

Application in Online Journalism

Dicky Wahyudi
(Master Student at Department of Communication Science,
Brawijaya University)
 Introduction
Research Problem:
Trial by the press occurred because the error application of the
Mirna and Cyanide
case in Detik.com Presumption of Innocence (PoI) by journalists (7/KEJ Press Council;
(Hapsari, 2018)
3/KEJ PWI; 20/KEJ AJI)

State-of-the-art and research novelty:

My research provides novelty by continuing research from Stelee
(2013); Tanos (2017); Ra (2020); Perez & Valera-Ordaz (2021);
Aditya Mukti in the
Gisella Anastasia
Press is not Peter Gontha and Mayal (2021); Dorak (2001) -International research article-';
judicial
porn video case in
Tribunnews and institution
Garuda Airlines
corruption case in Mustawa (2019a; 2019b); Pura & Kartika (2018); Hapsari (2018);
Inews online (Syahril (Trial by the Pikiranrakyat.com
(Press Council, 2022) Sari (2020); Lukman et al., (2021); Syahril et al., (2021); and the
et al., 2021) press)
journal from the Press Council (2010) – I conducted research to
identify "Interpretation and application of the PoI in online
journalism“

Coki Pardede and

RQ1: How is the interpretation of the PoI in journalism practice so
cook pork with date
sauce on Youtube
far?
(Lukman et al.,
2021)
RQ2: What is the understanding of the PoI by online media
journalists and how it is applied?
Literature Review
Online Journalism Ethics in the Tradition of Communication Studies
The Ethical Tradition (Griffin, 2012)
The importance of research on online journalism practices is due to the decline of ideal values and ethics in
online journalism (Nurhajati et al., 2018) and also due to the potential power of online journalism to construct
news and shape public opinion (Denisova, 2022; Mubarok & Wulandari, 2018).

The Presumption of Innocence in the Practice of Journalism

Institutional ethic of PoI (5/UU/40/1999; 7/KEJ Press Council; 3/KEJ PWI; 20/KEJ AJI)
The PoI becomes the principle of the press to uphold freedom and human rights (Manan, 2016; Mustawa,
2019a; 2019b)
Implications: Defamation, Character assassination, Social disharmony
Methods
1: Literature studies with documentation data collection techniques are used to find data related to the
interpretation of PoI in journalism practice
(KEJ documents from the Press Council, AJI and PWI; Scientific articles from the Press Council journal (2010) on
"Presumption of Innocence in Press Practices". Moreover, scientific articles from national and international
journals examine the PoI in journalism practice)

2: In-depth interviews with online media journalists, namely Y1 (PikiranRakyat.com), Y2 (Detik.com), Y3

(Suara.com), and Y4 (Liputan6.com) - analyzed using an interactive technique from Miles, Huberman, dan
Saldana (2014) for to answer research questions regarding the understanding and application of the PoI by
online media journalists.
 Result and Discussion
Literal Interpretation of the PoI in the Journalistic Code of Ethics
1) PoI with Verification Discipline; 2) PoI with Objectivity Principle; 3) PoI with Covering Both Side Principle; 4) PoI with
Mention of Identity; 5) Poi with Diction and Legal Grammar
The Understanding of the Presumption of Innocence by Online Media Journalists
Collective Understanding
The presumption of innocence principle as a code of ethics attached to the profession aims to maintain the dignity of journalists/journalists.

The presumption of innocence is a principle for journalists not to make journalistic products that harm others by judgment or accusation (trial
by the press).
The principle of presumption of innocence applies to all journalists who work in online and print media because of the nature of the rules that
generally bind the journalist profession without distinguishing journalists from online and print media.

Personal Understanding
A journalist's moral responsibility is to comply with the presumption of innocence. When a journalist intentionally or unintentionally commits a
mistake that leads to a trial by the press, he must be held responsible (Y1).
The principle of presumption of innocence is not only a moral responsibility dealing with the ethics council/ Press Council. Still, it becomes a
legal responsibility when it becomes defamation and slander against someone (Y3).
The principle of presumption of innocence is not a prohibition for journalists not to suspect someone is guilty in a criminal incident, but the
principle for writing journalistic products (Y1).
Although the presumption of innocence is also used for gathering facts, a journalist should not rush to suspect someone guilty because it will
create a tendency to corner the sources in the search for news and facts (Y2).

The Application of the Presumption of Innocence by Online Media Journalists
Ethic of Rules
PoI and Verification
PoI and Covering Both Side
PoI and Mention of Identity
PoI and Objectivity
Result and Discussion
Action
a) Memanfaatkan jaringan sesama media dan jurnalis.
b) Memanfaatkan press release dari institusi terpercaya sebagai teknik verifikasi berita.
c) Memanfaatkan sosial media yang dapat menjadi alat verifikasi (Akun terverifikasi, good track-
record, dan bukan akun both/penyebar hoaks)
d) Memanfaatkan intuisi, dilakukan oleh jurnalis karena tuntuntan media online yang harus up to
date.
a) Cover both side dilakukan dengan satu frame berita.
b) Cover both side dilakukan dengan bentuk running news.
c) Cover both side sulit dilakukan karena tuntutan media online yang up to date.
a) Mereka seperti para pejabat publik yang melakukan tindak kejahatan luar biasa disebutkan
identitasnya
b) Public figure seperti artis bisa disebutkan identitasnya apabila kejahatannya memiliki pengaruh ke
banyak orang.
c) Masyarakat biasa hanya bisa disebutkan identitasnya jika kejahatan yang dia lakukan berjejaring
dengan kelompok pejabat public.
d) Masyarakat biasa ditutup identitasnya di dalam pemberitaan (Inisial, umur, alamat, dan gambar
yang di-blur/sensor)
a) Jurnalis menginterpretasikan fakta
b) Jurnalis membuat opini berdasar interest-nya dengan diksi negative “garong, maling, predator
seksual, bejad, tolol, dll”
c) Jurnalis beropini dengan kalimat yang menyudutkan seorang dalam pemberitaan
Result and Discussion
Model of Avoid Trial by the Press
 Conclusion
The PoI is the principle to avoid trial by the press against a suspect in a crime/criminal event, it relations with other principles
such as a mention of identity, verification, covering both sides, objectivity, and following the judge's decision/legal grammar.
Journalists have a collective understanding of the PoI, which refers to the interpretation of the PoI in Ethical Institutions.
However, journalists have an authentic understanding of the PoI based on their personalities.
Proposition:
a) The demands for up-to-date news production (the logic of market competition) from online media make it difficult for
journalists to apply the PoI due to difficulties verifying and covering both sides.
b) The application of covering both sides in one news story will hinder the performance of online media journalists.
c) Personal interest affects the application of the PoI and objectivity in news production, so it has implications for
judgmental dictions with bad connotations.
d) Journalists need to gain more understanding of legal grammar to ensure the application of the PoI in news production.
Recommendations
Further research are to identify indications of violations of the PoI in online media news content through qualitative content
analysis;
Acknowledgment:
Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia for providing grant funds for Master Thesis Research