Indonesian media: Not for the squeamish

One of the things newcomers to Indonesia will find strange is the direct way in which the news is delivered. In western countries the audience, whether it be TV viewers or readers of newspapers, are spared gory details of news. Not here. I’ve seen dead people in dumpsters, people going to the bathroom, dead fetuses in the street, all on national news.

The stuff that the newspaper prints is equally direct, with names and details often published. Three news items in the current edition of Bali Advertiser are an example. The first is about robbery at the Central Money Changer in Sanur. It says that 30 year old Indra Astini was stabbed to death after confronting 2 armed men and died the next day in Sanglah hospital. Another article mentions Nyoman Sucini (34), who died of dengue fever at Sanglah hospital, after being treated with ‘jamu‘ (traditional cure) at home by her husband.

The last article talks about an unnamed young man (thankfully for him) from Denpasar who was admitted to the Emergency room at Sanglah with a 24 hour erection. He had been experimenting with a ‘penis enhancer’ and Chinese medicine and could not pass urine. Doctors removed 2 full syringes of blood to enable the poor chap to function. Make me laugh in some situations, feel sorry in others. People don’t tend to get emotional over bad news here in Bali.