The Multiplication program of Stube HEMAT in Bengkulu held another monthly discussion on a topic of Public Journalism. This discussion introduced what public journalism is to students and youth in order to build public understanding about the surrounding problems and to find collective solutions over the problems.
A total of 15 participants consisting of youth and students from across regions and islands namely North Sumatra, Medan, and Yogyakarta gathered in the Zoom application platform on Thursday (17/12/2020) from 19.00 to 21.00 WIB. Sahat Jason Gultom, an Antara News media journalist, was asked to become the facilitator in the discussion. Jason, as he is known, said that Public Journalism is a journalistic practice or reporting on issues of public interest in society and involving citizens.
“Public Journalism is an effort to reach the public done by professional journalists who work in media. These journalists will be more aggressive in their reporting process to listen how the citizens frame their problems and what citizens see solutions to those problems and then use that information to enrich the news itself”, said Jason.
Jason further explained that Public Journalism clarifies the position of journalists and society, where journalists involve the public in an event to enrich news or story. Not only that, this involvement is a proof that the public is directly involved in making news and become the source of information in the news. He also provided an example of Public Journalism which show problems faced by society and look for common solutions. It is different from ordinary journalism which commonly reports an event without participation to find solutions.
"Public Journalism also seeks a solution to a problem reported. The journalists who cover the problem participate in providing space for the community to accommodate the appropriate solution. As an example, in one news about floods in Bengkulu, the public also thinks about the solutions to solve the flood problem when it rains a lot,” he said.
This is in line with the vision of public journalism as a medium for public space that becomes a forum to unite all citizens of the society to talk to one another, have dialogue, discuss public problems and find solutions to these problems together. In addition, Jason, who is also the Chairperson of the Indonesian Journalists Association in the Central Tapanuli region, explained the role of the media he is currently doing, namely the press media towards public journalism.
"The reports from the press that are broadcasted to the public should not only at the reporting phase but also how to make the readers get the awareness about the problems and then they are motivated to be involved to resolve the problems directly", Jason concluded.
Even though the virtual discussion was held during rain in Yogyakarta, North Sumatra, and Bengkulu, it got warmer when each participant asked questions and express opinions about Public Journalism. The discussion ended with an understanding that public journalism provides a vast opportunity for the public to dialogue and to debate about all things that affect their lives. The media provides an opportunity for the public to find solutions, thus, news in the concept of public journalism comes from the bottom/grassroots. ***