By: Farouk Alviansyah)*
National Press Day (HPN), which is commemorated every February 9, is a moment for every press member to continue to present the best news to the public. With good news reporting in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is hoped that people’s optimism can be formed.
Journalism is a noble profession because it writes news and then publishes it to many people, so that they follow the latest news. An ink porter can express through his pen, and viral facts that many people don’t even know about. However, this profession is also vulnerable because now journalists are prone to being infiltrated by interests other than the sanctity of journalism’s mission.
Vice President KH Ma’ruf Amin wished you a Happy National Press Day on February 9th. He also advised every journalist to provide credible and reliable information during the pandemic. Don’t even intentionally mislead, misinformation, disinformation, and even spread hoaxes.
In a sense, a journalist is very vulnerable to spreading horrendous news about Corona. For example, when the Omicron variant has entered Indonesia, it should not be narrated like a nightmare that has come true. This mutated virus is indeed more dangerous than the delta variant but don’t make too much news, which makes people paranoid to leave the house, for fear of Omicron being attacked.
In addition, journalists (especially in online media) should not even make news headlines that are shocking, just because they want pageviews on the online newspaper’s website to increase. For example, when there is an increase in Omicron cases, it is rumored that it will be like the apocalypse. Everything is exaggerated because they use the click bait technique, which can actually make readers give up because the content of the news is not as exciting as the title.
Trust me with a slick title, pageviews can go up on their own, because click bait actually makes online newspapers seem cheap. It’s the same with the yellow newspaper (printed version) which is usually sold at a crossroads, which presents random news. Keep the quality of the news then the media will continue to exist.
As a good member of the press, it is obligatory to always adhere to the journalistic code of ethics. Please help the government to write news about Corona that is honest but not too exaggerated. The reason is because when there is horrendous news, people are afraid to panic and think that the third wave of Corona attacks has occurred and resulted in many deaths.
Don’t let people panic because the news about the pandemic is not factual and excessive, because it can cause an uproar. For example, panic buying and finally groceries disappear in the market, for fear of the lockdown policy. Or some are afraid to just go out onto the terrace for fear of contracting Omicron.
Calmness is half the cure and panic is the opposite. Don’t make people panic because it is precisely those who have comorbidities such as heart disease that can recur, for fear of getting Corona. Even though they had been vaccinated, they became paranoid after reading the big news in the newspaper. Finally entered the hospital because of a relapse of the disease, not because of Corona.
The press should be aware that too much negative news has circulated and must be balanced with positive news. In a sense, it doesn’t mean telling them to lie, because the pandemic is still going on. However, the news written must be honest and not stirred up, as if Indonesia could be destroyed because of Corona.
In order to commemorate the national press day, journalists are encouraged to write news from a positive angle and not vice versa, instead competing to make click bait titles. Don’t even poison people’s minds just because you want viewers to increase, but you must stick to the journalistic code of ethics.
)* The author is a contributor to Pertiwi Institute
