REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Amid the rapid development of digital media, the role of civic organizations will become increasingly important. In this context, a number of Indonesian workers and mass media figures pioneered the founding of the Indonesian Journalists Association or Ikatan Jurnalis Indonesia (IKAJI). The organization will bring a new hope and efforts to the advancement of journalism in this country.

As a new organization, IKAJI will be officially declared on Wednesday (13/12/2023) at RRI Building, Jakarta. The declaration event is going to be attended by a number of national figures. Among them are the General Chair of the Muhammadiyah Central Executive Prof. Haedar Nashir, the Minister of Communications and Informatics Budi Arie Setiadi, and Rommy Fibri as the General Chairman of IKAJI.

On that occasion, Prof. Haedar Nashir will deliver a national oration. Budi Arie will give a keynote speech in front of the audience. Later, the “IKAJI Manifesto” will be presented by Rommy Fibri.

Rommy said that the world of journalism is now facing the rapid development of information technology. Therefore, journalists should always be ready to adapt and constantly improve their competence.

“We have to adapt to the changes. Digitalization has not only changed the platform or media of mass media, but also the business landscape and media professionalism,” Rommy said, as quoted from a written statement received by Republika on Tuesday (12/12/2023).

Therefore, he continued, IKAJI was present to align with the development of the times. According to him, there are several main concerns of this civic organization over the phenomenon of digitalization.

First, the aspect of professionalism. That's a big challenge because both the producers and the consumers of the media are equally degraded in their respective mindset.

He said it was difficult to distinguish between content that was purely informational and that was truly news. “In fact, there are now widespread hoaxes that change the order of people's mindset,” he said.

The second concern is the business aspect. With the rapid digitalization, the concept of mass media business is changing. Therefore, Rommy explained, the membership of IKAJI will be filled not only by journalists, but also by the entire team involved in the mass media sector.

Third, Rommy continued, is the ethical aspect. Now, disputes in the media sphere — including social media — are not just about writing and news, but also business and ethical aspects. Quite a few cases in the area of social media are closely related to the issue of charging a transaction that is arbitrary or even less likely to be "inhumane." This is where the social media council's presence matters.

“Therefore, IKAJI is pushing for the immediate formation of a social media council, whose coverage is not only news but also all aspects that encompass it,” Rommy stressed.

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