Under the image and next to a barcode is an advisory in small print. “IMPORTANT: Starting tomorrow, in-depth coverage of the Islam Defenders Front only at koran.tempo.co or in using the Tempo Media application.” 

“We are terminating the print edition, the first print run of which was on April 2, 2001, to transform fully to a digital platform,” chief editor Budi Setyarso stated in a letter from the newsroom.

Budi explained that data had shown long before the COVID-19 pandemic that readers had left the print edition and switched to digital.   

Indeed, the migration to digital is worldwide. Many mainstream print media are on the internet. The first Indonesian daily to have an online outlet was Republika, launched Aug. 17, 1995. However, fewer papers like The Jakarta Post are steadfastly maintaining their print edition.

In an end of year 2020 assessment note, the independent Press Council of Indonesia cites two issues the domestic press faces today. First is the issue of media sustainability. Second is media professionalism and protection for the press.

With regard to the first issue, the press faces disruption with the growing penetration of the digital platform business. As in other countries, digital platforms have become influential in public life and are earning greater amounts of advertising revenue, thereby hurting conventional mass media.

The Press Council calls for regulations that allow for the coexistence of old media and new media.  A media ecosystem is required that makes it possible for professional publishers to secure (publication) rights for the journalistic work they produce, the council continued. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has also taken a toll on many media outlets. With a drop in income, many media firms had to downsize, lay off workers, and cut back payrolls, the Press Council states. 

On media professionalism and press protection, the majority of press complaint cases the Press Council handled ended with the conclusion that “a violation of the journalism code of ethics had been committed by the media in question that was reproached.”

A significant case the Press Council faced was when 33 cybermedia outlets used unsubstantiated, inaccurate information to yield a news story that tended to condemn. The story was on a Jakarta State Administrative Court ruling on June 3, 2020 in relation to the decision of the President and minister of communications delay and curtail internet access in Papua in 2019. 

On press protection, the Press Council notes the continued criminalizing of the press and violence against journalists. The criminalizing of a journalist for a piece they produce is surely a bad precedent for a press freedom system in a democracy like Indonesia, the Press Council declared.

Nevertheless, this happened to Diananta Putra Sumedi, former chief editor of banjarhits.id. The Kotabaru District Court in South Kalimantan sentenced Diantara to 3.5 months in prison for a story he wrote and published on cybermedia kumparan.com on May 4, 2020.

Violence against journalists also occurred when they covered demonstrations to oppose the Job Creation Law. 

A third issue relating to press protection is digital hacking. On Aug. 22, 2020, tempo.co got hacked so that its web page appeared black with messages that cornered the news desk. On the same day, seven critical articles on tirto.id relating to a controversial COVID-19 cure claim tied to two state institutions suddenly disappeared.

The Press Council also condemns doxing, which has victimized reporters for their news coverage. Doxing is the publishing of private information of a particular individual on the internet with malicious intent. 

Meanwhile, the Alliance of Independent Journalists of Indonesia (AJI) has recorded 84 cases of violence against journalists throughout 2020 in its end of year statement. On welfare, AJI urged media companies to cease their policy of salary payment delays, pay cuts and unilateral layoffs. 

Given this sad situation amplified by the pandemic, sociologist Ariel Heryanto insists the world, with its divisive crises, still needs journalism. 

“Facts and information that are honest, tested and trusted are needed. Public accord can be built and sustainable debate can enlighten,” the Herb Feith professor in Indonesia studies at Monash University, Australia, asserts in a Kompas daily op-ed Dec. 26, 2020.

The Guardian, a major British daily, shows how it has built relations with people providing the “high impact journalism” readers want and earning the financial support the paper needs. CEO Annette Thomas explains that since the start of 2020, the paper had gained 268,000 new digital subscriptions and recurring contributions, an increase of 43 percent, citing two critical sources of income. 

Quality journalism is key. In this era of people shifting from print to digital news, media managers must innovate in providing quality content that matters to readers and establishing sustainable income streams. The public needs quality information for enlightenment.

Print media can go but journalism should strive to provide quality public service.

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The writer is a senior journalist and an instructor at Dr. Soetomo Press Institute.