Indonesia is home to 183 million people scattered through about 13 thousand islands. There are at least 583 dialects and also various religions and ethic groups exist in the country. Thus, the issue of unification is significant in Indonesia. To date, the state's ideology, Pancasila, has been considered as an effective device to bring the nation together. Pancasila is also used as a platform for Indonesia's developmental policy making. Media in Indonesia have long been seen as a means to support the development process. Indonesia has just completed its first Long Term Development Plan (1969 to 1994). The first Long Term Development Plan emphasized Indonesia's economy. Under the New Order administration, Indonesia has achieved both political stability and a continuing economic growth. Lately, there are some significant changes in the field of broadcasting infrastructure. On July 24th, 1990, the government issued the Decree of the Minister of Information (no. 111/Kep/Menpen/1990) which is unofficially known as the 'Open Skies Policy'. This policy allows the private sector to run private television stations and also gives permission to the public to own satellite dishes. The 'Open Skies Policy' can be seen as a breakthrough in Indonesian media infrastructure because from 1962 to 1989, Indonesia had only one, state owned, television station-TVRI. Now, there are five private stations and numerous foreign television stations beamed through at least 400 thousand satellite dishes in the country. The number of telephones, however, has not yet exceeded 1.7 million. This thesis recognizes that the 'Open Skies Policy' deserves thorough analysis because it reflects a series of significant changes in the Indonesian governments development strategies. This thesis sets itself the following objectives: to overview major development communication paradigms and to consider which development paradigm works most effectively in the Indonesian context; to explain how 'development' has been conceptualized in Indonesia and how this has manifested in media policy; to analyse the implications of the 'Open Skies Policy' and to consider whether it represents a new direction in Indonesia's developmental policy making.