Radio of the Republic of Indonesia (RRI)
Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) is the national public radio broadcaster of Indonesia. Founded in 1945, in the early days of Indonesian independence, RRI has since evolved into a multifaceted broadcasting network with a nationwide footprint and international reach via Voice of Indonesia.
Today, RRI operates four main channels, each tailored to distinct audiences and programming objectives: Programa 1: Focuses on local news, education, and community-oriented content; Programa 2: Targets younger demographics with music, lifestyle, and popular culture programming; Programa 3: Provides in-depth news coverage, public affairs, and current events; Programa 4: Showcases arts, heritage, and cultural discourse.
Media assets
Radio: RRI Pro 1, RRI Pro 2, RRI Pro 3, RRI Pro 4, Voice of Indonesia
State Media Matrix Typology
Independent State Funded and State Managed/Owned Media (ISFM)
Ownership and governance
Like its television counterpart TVRI, RRI was designated as a public broadcasting institution through Law No. 32/2002 on Broadcasting. This transformation was formalized by Government Regulation No. 13/2005, shifting the broadcaster from a government department to an independent legal entity, albeit still state-funded and supervised.
RRI’s governance structure mirrors that of TVRI, comprising: a Supervisory Board (Dewan Pengawas) of five members, appointed by the People’s Representative Council (DPR) and approved by the President of Indonesia; and a Board of Directors (Dewan Direksi), also consisting of five members, nominated by the Supervisory Board and likewise subject to presidential approval.
In theory, this structure is intended to protect RRI from political interference. In practice, however, it has frequently been criticized for allowing political patronage to dominate appointments, undermining the spirit of public service broadcasting.
The current President Director (CEO) is Ignatius Hendrasmo, appointed for the 2022–2026 term. Hendrasmo is a seasoned media executive and communications strategist with a diverse background spanning both public and private sectors. He was appointed President Director of RRI in 2022, following an open selection process overseen by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics and the RRI Supervisory Board. Prior to joining RRI, Hendrasmo held senior management roles in publishing and public relations, including a leadership position at Kompas Gramedia, one of Indonesia’s largest media conglomerates.
In March 2025, Komisi I of the DPR received a proposal from the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs to merge TVRI, RRI, and ANTARA into a unified public broadcasting company, creating a multi‑platform institution to boost innovation, national cohesion, and creative output.
Source of funding and budget
According to Law 32/2002, RRI is to be financed through a mixed funding model, combining a broadcast licence fee (yet to be implemented), state budget allocations, public contributions, and commercial revenues, primarily from advertising.
As the licence fee has never been introduced, RRI remains heavily dependent on annual allocations from the state budget, rendering it financially vulnerable to political and bureaucratic influence.
In 2020, RRI operated with a state budget of IDR 1.3 trillion (approx. US$ 88 million). In 2022, this figure fell to IDR 941.6 billion (approx. US$ 63.3 million), according to its audited financial report. For 2024, RRI faced a reduced ceiling allocation of just over IDR 900 billion, prompting temporary layoffs of freelance and contract workers across several regional stations.
RRI’s 2025 indicative budget is IDR 1.070 trillion (98% from state budget; 1.9% from Non-Tax State Revenue, PNBP). The Ministry of Finance initially mandated budget cuts of IDR 334 billion, later reduced to IDR 170 billion, directed toward preserving staff compensation and avoiding large-scale layoffs.
In February 2025, as part of Presidential Instruction No. 1/2025 on fiscal austerity, RRI scaled back operations: temporarily shutting down AM transmitters and Programa 4/5, and canceling events like Bintang Radio and Quranic competitions unless externally funded. Despite constraints, RRI committed to continued public service delivery, opting for selective layoffs primarily among freelance contributors and outsourced staff, while core operations remained intact.
Editorial independence
While Indonesia’s legal framework formally acknowledges the editorial independence of public service broadcasters, the realities at Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) told a more nuanced story. In practice, RRI’s editorial agenda and news coverage were for many years closely aligned with government narratives, especially on politically sensitive issues. Interviews with journalists and media analysts conducted in March 2024 revealed that, although instances of critical reporting did occur, genuine and consistent editorial autonomy remained largely absent.
The dual-board governance structure—originally intended to act as a buffer against political interference— was instead routinely co-opted by partisan interests. Experts observed that the Supervisory Board often functions more as a political instrument than as a steward of the public interest.
As of mid-2025, no independent statutory body exists to monitor or evaluate RRI’s editorial integrity. Nor does the institution benefit from mechanisms commonly associated with independent public service broadcasters elsewhere, such as an audience council, an independent ombudsman, or a transparent public complaints process.
Yet, despite these structural vulnerabilities, no verified cases of censorship or editorial interference have emerged at RRI in 2025. Under the leadership of Ignatius Hendrasmo, the broadcaster has pursued a more forward-looking strategy—focusing on digital transformation, regional outreach, and the revitalization of RRI’s public service mission. Hendrasmo has repeatedly emphasized the importance of radio’s local relevance and the need for adaptive, credible journalism in a changing media environment—signals of a management approach grounded in responsiveness and integrity.
In light of these developments, and despite the absence of legal guarantees for independence, RRI was reclassified in 2025 from the State-Controlled (SC) category to the Independent State-Funded and State-Managed/Owned Media (ISFM) category. This decision reflects an improved editorial posture under current leadership, even as structural reforms remain urgently needed.
July 2025