Between the Media Industry and Public Trust

Rendi, a collector of NFT or non-fungible tokens for the Kompas daily, took a photo with the Kompas daily newspaper which he collected in the form of NFT during a visit to the Kompas Information Center in Jakarta, Tuesda

ANTONIUS TOMY TRINUGROHO

A number of newspapers published on Wednesday (3/6/2020), in Jakarta. Several newspaper publications had to be stopped because they were not strong enough to face digital disruption.

Since the last decade, the mainstream press has faced challenges that have risen as the result of digital disruption. This challenge mainly hit printed newspapers, magazines and tabloids, some of which have switched to online platforms. The demand to continue to innovate certainly requires a lot of production costs.

The print media can no longer fully depend on the revenue it gets from advertising. In the UNESCO report (2022), the distribution of advertising in print media globally dropped from 22.9 percent in 2010 to 5.7 percent in 2021. Confronted with this, a number of mainstream media have chosen to offer news content based on a pay-wall or subscription as a strategy to survive.

At the same time, maintaining public trust also needs to be a serious concern for press companies. Objectivity in reporting is something that must be continuously maintained.

"This challenge is also not only a matter of visuals [news appearance] and speed, but also elements of completeness," said lecturer of Journalism at Media Nusantara University, Ignatius Haryanto. "For example, social media like Tiktok quickly disseminate information or news, but the content is incomplete," he said.

Mainstream media needs to maintain the element of completeness of information and make it an advantage over social media.

This challenge is also not only a matter of visuals [news appearance] and speed, but also elements of completeness.

Apart from the element of completeness, Haryanto also highlighted the public’s attention to the independence of media from any political interests. The public is actually aware of the presence of partisan media or those affiliated with certain political parties. This can lead to the emergence of public distrust of the media.

Haryanto's view is in line with the findings of a Kompas survey (January 25-February 4, 2023) on 1,202 respondents in 38 provinces. As many as 70.2 percent of respondents acknowledged that they still trusted the news in mainstream media, such as television, printed newspapers, radio and online news. Meanwhile, 19.9 percent of respondents said they did not trust the news in mainstream media.

Although the percentage of respondents who do not trust mainstream media is still relatively small, it is a warning to the press. Balanced, accurate and validated information is a fundamental requirement before the news is conveyed to the public. If this cannot be fulfilled, the public's distrust of mass media coverage will continue to increase.

A lecturer in communication studies at the University of Indonesia, Pinckey Triputra, said the neutrality aspect of mass media needed to be reinterpreted as taking sides with ideal values. "So, it's not the media that takes sides with certain groups or parties, but is based on values such as humanity and democracy," he said.

With the various perspectives of mass media on an issue, society is actually enriched and the press carries out its educational duties.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

Rendy, a collector of NFT or non-fungible tokens for the Kompas daily, took a photo with the Kompas daily newspaper which he collected in the form of NFT during a visit to the Kompas Information Center in Jakarta, Tuesday (6/9/2022).

Trusted source

It is undeniable that the emergence of hoaxes and disinformation also plays a role in creating public distrust of mass media. Various information that spread on social media also brings a tsunami of information to the public. It is not surprising that the global community is currently experiencing the phenomenon of news avoidance and news fatigue.

This phenomenon can also be seen in the 2022 Reuters Digital News Report, which shows that 48 percent of the global public no longer believes the news that is spread in any media.

Meanwhile, in the Indonesian context, you can refer to the results of the Kompas survey. As many as 53.2 percent of respondents said that television was the most trusted news channel, followed by social media. "Television can be enjoyed by the public free of charge, so it is highly accessible and trusted by the public," said Haryanto.

The emergence of social media in second place as news trusted by the public is certainly a challenge for the Communications and Information Ministry and the cyber police. On social media, many accounts present a variety of information that does not go through a verification process. Hoaxes and disinformation are the easiest to spread on social media.

Television can be enjoyed by the public free of charge, so it is highly accessible and trusted by the public.

In addition, the brand aspect of a press media company is no longer the thing that determines public trust in accessing information. When respondents were asked about the main reasons for trusting news coverage in mass media, news containing sources of information from authorities (for example containing official data, institutional releases and statements of figures) was a strong consideration for 34.7 percent of respondents. Meanwhile, only 6.2 percent of respondents chose mass media brands.

"The phenomenon of public consumption now shows consumers are no longer loyal to a brand, but choose based on needs," said Haryanto. According to Haryanto, consumer needs are varied and media companies need to look at the needs or interests of each generation of consumers. For example, Generation Z needs news related to financial independence or environmental issues.

Regarding reliable news sources, Gadjah Mada University communication sciences lecturer, Nyarwi Ahmad, said press organizations needed to get closer to readers as consumers of information. "The public needs to be educated about good journalistic content, like offering healthy food," he said.

(KOMPAS R & D)

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.