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Abstract

This paper examines the experience of Radio Elshinta in Jakarta with people-initiated journalism long before the descriptor “citizen journalism” emerged as a topic of research in academic level. Elshinta has 100,000 listeners, most with no formal training in journalism, contributing to its news broadcast since 2000. This study compares Elshinta’s experience with a popular online citizen media portal Ohmynews in South Korea and attempts to identify the catalysts of ‘citizen journalism’ in the two countries. The case study is complemented by interviews with journalists from Ohmynews and Elshinta. The study concludes that despite the low penetration of internet in Indonesia, the predominantly oral culture and low level of education, the main factors for Elshinta’s productive engagement with its listeners are (a) the predominantly oral culture in Indonesia; (b) low literacy, thus they rely on radio as the primary source of information and entertainment; and (c) the popularity of mobile phones for interpersonal communication. However, Indonesian television and printed media have been slow in catching up with people-initiated journalism because of: (a) fear over losing its reputation as credible media organizations, and thus commercial trust; and (b) conflict between unedited reports by untrained reporters with the professional code of ethics and Press Law. Other obstacles in broadering people-initiated journalism in Indonesian mainstream media are the slow uptake of amateur handy-cam images by TV stations, slow internet access, lack of writing skills, and lack of interactivity in existing online newssites.

Bahasa Abstract

Tulisan ini membahas pengalaman Radio Elshinta di Jakarta dalam mengembangkan jurnalisme berdasarkan inisiatif masyarakat jauh sebelum topik citizen journalism/jurnalisme warga muncul sebagai bahan riset dunia akademisi. Elshinta memiliki 100.000 pendengar yang setia menyumbangkan berita sejak tahun 2000. Studi ini membandingkan pengalaman Elshinta dengan situs jurnalisme warga populer di Korea Selatan Ohmynews dan mencoba mengidentifikasi katalis jurnalisme warga di kedua negara tersebut. Studi kasus ini dilengkapi wawancara dengan wartawan dari Ohmynews dan Elshinta. Studi ini menyimpulkan bahwa dengan penetrasi internet di Indonesia rendah, budaya lisan kuat di Indonesia, dan tingkat pendidikan yang rendah, kesuksesan Elshinta dalam melibatkan pendengarnya dalam berita dipengaruhi oleh faktor-faktor sebagai berikut: (a) dominannya budaya lisan (b) rendahnya tingkat baca sehingga ada ketergantungan tinggi terhadap radio sebagai sumber informasi dan hiburan, (c) popularitas telepon seluler sebagai alat komunikasi. Meski demikian, televisi dan media cetak di Indonesia agak enggan menerapkan jurnalisme warga dengan alasan (a): ketakutan kehilangan reputasi sebagai institusi media yang kredibel dan juga kehilangan kepercayaan dari pemasang iklan, dan (b) konflik antara berita yang tidak teredit dari warga dengan kode etik jurnalistik dan Undang Undang Pers. Kendala yang lain untuk mengembangkan jurnalisme warga di media yang mainstream adalah rendahnya pemakaian handycam oleh para amatir, lambatnya akses internet, rendahnya kemampuan menulis dan kurangnya interaktivitas dari situs internet di Indonesia.

References

Badan Pusat Statistik [BPS]. 2003. Statistik Sosial Budaya, Hasil Susenas (National Survey Result). BPS, halaman 19-26 Bowman, Shane & Willis, Chris. 2003. We Media: How Audience are Shaping the Future of News and Information. The Media Center at the American Press Institute Gahran, Amy. 2005, 10 Mei. Transparency vs. Substantiation: Two Sides of the Credibility (Part 3). Dikutip ulang 22 September, 2006 dari http://blog.contentious.com/archives/2005/05/09/transpa rency-vs-substantiation-two-sides-of-the-credibility-coin Gilmor, Dan. 2005, Winter. Where Citizens and Journalists Intersect. Nieman Report, Vol 59. No 4, Halaman 11-13 buletinlokal.com (2006).http://www.buletinlokal.com/ Outing, Steve. 2005, 15 Juni. The 11 layers of Citizen Journalism. Dikutip ulang 15 Agustus, 2006 dari http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=8 The National Internet Development Agency of Korea [NIDA]. (2004). Dikutip ulang 10 Agustus, 2006 dari: http://www.nic.or.kr/english/newsnnotice/news_view.js p?gubun=1&menu=1&brdId=060315162908001000&a Seq=060502225734005001 Undang Undang Republik Indonesia No 40/1999 tentang Pers. Dikutip ulang 7 September 2006 dari http://www.radioprssni.com/legal/uu_pers.htm

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