ABSTRAK
Pers berperan penting sebagai wahana aspirasi politik dalam negara demokratis, sehingga menempatkan pers dalam posisi strategis. Tarik menarik kepentingan dalam setiap pergulatan politik di suatu negara, senantiasa memanfaatkan pers sebagai panggung sekaligus gelanggang dimana pergulatan wacana politik terjadi. Begitu pula dalam konteks pergulatan politik terkait kebijakan pemerintah menaikan harga Bahan Bakar Minyak (BBM) tahun 2005.Penulisan tesis ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan dan menganalisis bagaimana peranan Harian Media Indonesia dalam mempengaruhi opini publik tentang isu politik kenaikan harga BBM pada masa pemerintahan Presiden Yudhoyono. Fokus penelitian pada studi kasus wacana editorial dan pengaruh terhadap pembacanya. Kontcks penelitian dalam perspektif ketahanan nasional, khususnya akseptabilitas kebijakan pemerintah di masyarakat.Dalam mendeskripsikan dan menganalisis peranan harian Media Indonesia dalam mempengaruhi opini publik tentang isu politik kenaikan harga BBM dilakukan analisis deskriptif kualitatif dengan menggunakan analisis framing dari Robert N. Entman.Dari hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa Media Indonesia mendukung kebijakan kenaikan bahkan pencabutan subsidi BBM dengan disertai rasionalitas aspek ekonominya. Namun demikian mayoritas pembaca editorial MI menolak kenaikan harga BBM karena lebih melihat isu tersebut dari aspek sosial dan politik, dimana pemerintah dinilai tidak memperhatikan kesulitan rakyat dan tidak aspiratif.

---

ABSTRACT

The press has an extremely important role to play the political aspirations in the democratic countries, so the press has strategic position. Trade-offs among interests in each political struggle in a country always made use of the press as the stage at the same time as the arena where the struggle for the political discourse happened. Press is also used in the context of the political struggle related to government policy to raise the fuel oil prices in 2005.

The purpose of this thesis writing is to describe and analyze how the role of the Media Indonesia daily newspaper in influencing public opinion about political issues on raising of fuel oil in the President Yudhoyono's era. The focus research is case study of editorial discourse and its influence on its readers. The context of research is in the perspective of national endurance, especially acceptability of the government policy in the community.

The method used to describe and analyze the role of the Media Indonesia daily newspaper in influencing public opinion on political issues of fuel oil price increase is qualitative-descriptive analysis using a frame-analysis technique developed by Robert N. Entman.

From the results of the research it could be concluded that the Media Indonesia daily newspaper supported the policy of fuel oil increase even the withdrawal of fuel oil subsidy accompanied by rational aspect of its economics. Nevertheless, majority of editorial readers refused the price of fuel oil increase because they saw this issue from the social and political aspect, where the government was assessed not to pay attention to the people's difficulties and not aspirated.