President Jokowi Calls for Well-Organized Press Industry Ecosystem

President Jokowi Wednesday (02/09) virtually attends the peak event of the 2022 National Press Day (HPN) commemoration from the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java province. (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/Lukas)

The press industry ecosystem shall be organized to create a more balanced competitive climate, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said.

“The press industry ecosystem must be continuously organized. A more balanced competitive climate must be continuously created. Foreign platforms must be regulated so that they have better management. We should strengthen the rules for fair and balanced profit sharing between global and local platforms,” ​​President Jokowi said virtually at the peak event of the 2022 National Press Day (HPN) commemoration from the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java province, Wednesday (02/09).

Furthermore, the President also emphasized the importance of information sovereignty for all. “Information sovereignty must be achieved for us, together. We must bolster a healthy national press industry ecosystem, build and strengthen a national advertising platform, create a national video platform so that we are not completely dependent on foreign video platforms,” the President said.

In addition, the President also highlighted that Indonesia should not only be a market for global digital technology products. According to him, innovative technology platforms that facilitate the public to obtain quality, accurate, and accountable information must continue to be established and developed.

“Proportional rewards should be given to mainstream media who consistently dedicate their capabilities and resources to produce quality and intellectual journalistic works,” he said.

In the last two years, the national press industry has experienced extraordinary pressure due to the pandemic, digital disruption, and foreign giant media platforms that took away the economic potential and influence of the mainstream media.

“The drastic change in the media competition has given rise to various complicated issues, which Chairperson of the Indonesian Journalists’ Association (PWI) has also mentioned earlier. The emergence of alternative sources of information, the proliferation of information trends that merely pursue clicks or views, the flood of content that only pursues virality, the massive amount of misleading information which turn people against each other, causing confusion and even division,” he said.

In this demanding situation, the President urged the mainstream media to quickly transform, be more innovative, and improve technology to speed up healthy growth. In addition, mainstream media must also flood channels and platforms with good news, educate and provide quality content, and use trust and integrity as capital to seize opportunities.

“The Indonesian press must be able to overcome weaknesses while continuing the nation’s big agendas, strengthen the foothold to jump higher and to surf in the midst of change, accelerate digital transformation to produce quality journalistic works, be faster and remain accurate, and not be trapped in a pragmatic attitude that takes away our integrity,” he remarked. (FID/UN) (FI/MMB)