REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PADANG -- Chairman of the Indonesian Press Council, Yosep Adi Prasetyo, has said that Indonesia has 47,000 mass media platforms. With that number, the country has the highest number of such outlets in the world.

"Of those, 2,000 are print media platforms, 674 radio channels, 523 television channels, including the local ones, and online media platforms," he said at the 2018 National Press Day (HPN), here on Friday.

Of all these platforms, however, many still do not qualify as a medium but exist courtesy the financial aid from regional budget. Also, not all of the mass media journalists involved are competent as they neither have journalistic knowledge nor have received any such training, he remarked.

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According to Prasetyo, so far, only nearly 14,000 journalists have the required competencies. He then appealed that the freedom of press being enjoyed currently should not be used to put forth false or hoax news.

Apart from that, Prasetyo also reminded that the mass media should be objective and neutral and not be trapped in political interests. The 2018 regional head elections and the 2019 presidential elections will constitute test cases about the neutrality of the mass media.

The National Press Day (HPN) function was held at the Muaro Lasak Padang Beach and was attended by governors, ministers, ambassadors, and thousands of journalists.

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