Revealing Things that Have not been Revealed
It is no longer possible for the media industry or the press media to rely on the old journalistic way of working. In news coverage and production, conventional patterns are increasingly being stripped away.
If you have an opinion about Kompas news, please email to ombudsman@kompas.id
When the flood of information is inevitable because every individual is now free to produce and disseminate information, what else can the press media do?
Especially in this country, the situation is more problematic. At the same time, the press is facing two currents of radical change. Besides the 1998 political liberalization which opened up freedom of media, there is the digitalization of communication technology, which facilitates the widest possible media space.
Also read:
> Journalism, Disruption and the Pandemic
> Efforts to Enforce Fair Journalism
> Quality Journalism Needs Public Support
The two changes have eroded the entry barrier to news information. The press media are no longer the sole producers of information and, frequently, compete with sources that produce and publish their own information.
Anyone can do it; it is no longer the characteristic of a journalist.
It is no longer possible for the media industry or the press media to rely on the old journalistic way of working. In news coverage and production, conventional patterns are increasingly being stripped away. Journalism that relied on the instinctive sense of "smelling" in digesting the appropriateness of the value of an event (nose for news) is no longer enough. The production of news based on the interweaving of informants' comments has become obsolete. Anyone can do it; it is no longer the characteristic of a journalist.
Phillip Meyer, professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina, USA, argued, it is no longer possible for journalists to rely on conventional patterns. When information was scarce, most of the efforts of journalists were devoted to gathering information. Now, when information is abundant, the demands of processing information are much more important.
Kompas realizes the changes in the value of information and its consequences. In order to maintain the dignity of quality journalism that it carries, it is no longer enough to rely on comprehensive news production. Interpretative news, which tries to reveal the meaning of events obtained from information processing and data analysis, is practiced.
In order to make this happen, data-driven journalism is featured. Actually, the tradition of journalistic creation based on the results of data processing has been built since 1995 in line with the institutionalization of the Kompas Research and Development (R&D) unit in conducting public opinion surveys and processing secondary data. In August 2021, a special segment of data journalism was introduced to the public, a periodical managed by a team of journalists and researchers.
The data processing model into information is able to reveal things that have not been revealed so far, moreover the findings are contained with the support of charming graphic visualizations.
In the Kompas Ombudsman Forum at this time, coinciding with one year of the rubric of data journalism, a series of evaluations were carried out. The advantages of data journalism appear to be true. The data processing model into information is able to reveal things that have not been revealed so far, moreover the findings are contained with the support of charming graphic visualizations.
How data journalism reveals that 199 regencies/cities are threatened by tidal flooding in 2050 as a warning against the threat of climate change and rising sea levels. There is a potential that no less than 8.6 million people are affected and a loss of Rp 1,58 trillion (US$106 million) must be borne (Kompas, Aug. 20, 2021).
The disparity of society is not spared in the study of data journalism. There are findings that it is increasingly difficult for millennials to own a house because the increase in their income is not in line with the increase in house prices (Kompas, Oct. 1, 2021). There is also the problem of the difficulty of 8.8 million Jabodetabek (Greater Jakarta) residents accessing public transportation (Kompas, Feb. 3) and the wasting of food waste, which reaches Rp 330 trillion per year (Kompas, May 19). In addition, it was revealed that the increase in university entrance fees is no longer affordable because it was not proportional to the increase in the parents' income (Kompas, Jul. 28). All findings arise from data processing.
In addition, the visualization element sometimes gives more emphasis on the aesthetic side than the function of its use.
Behind the interesting findings of data journalism, the Ombudsman's evaluation reveals a number of limitations. The strict methodology and analytical framework that must be presented frequently make the narrative "heavy" and "dry". Exposure to the findings tends to approach scientific journals rather than journalistic reports. In addition, the visualization element sometimes gives more emphasis on the aesthetic side than the function of its use. This limits the effectiveness of the message to be conveyed.
Despite its limitations, data journalism has proven to be a reliable choice of journalistic model. In the midst of a flood of information, it becomes a differentiator, revealing problems from things that have not been able to be revealed so far.
Bestian Nainggolan,
Bestian Nainggolan, A member of Kompas Ombudsman
(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo)
