by: Mohammad Nasir, Secretary General of the Indonesian Cyber Media Union.
Presented at the Indonesia 4.0 Conference and Expo organized by PT Naganaya Indonesia at the Grand Ballroom of the Jakarta International Expo, 24 August 2023.
The digital era entered Indonesia like a storm. At first it was a gentle breeze that felt good. Then the wind pressure grew stronger, stronger and bigger. Terrible and destroy everything that already exists.
As media practitioners, print media journalists, we originally wanted digital technology to be able to send news scripts to the editor where we work, Kompas Daily.
In the early 1990s we were introduced to sending news via a computer/laptop connected via a telephone network. It’s called crosstalk.
Delivery is guaranteed not to arrive if delivery has not reached 100 percent as indicated by the appearance of a number accompanied by the sound “krook, kroook”. Once up to 100 percent relief. Definitely in. That was the first introduction of a means of sending news via computer.
Previously, we used telex and facsimile machines that we borrowed from the nearest Telekom office where we were: in the area, out of town, or overseas. Of course we pay.
When we covered the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1995, when we entered a hotel where the walls of the room and elevator were full of holes because of bullets, the first thing we approached was the hotel office or business center so we could use the fax to send news. When we have the facsimile machine we need, we can rest easy.
Today’s time is different. What you are looking for is not a facsimile, but a computer with an internet network. Even if a computer with an internet network is not found, the smartphone in hand can function to send news using the internet network that is in it.
This internet-enabled smartphone is what we envision to be able to send news from anywhere, from forests to mountains to swamps.
At that time, wanted to have a smartphone. I bought every smartphone that has an internet device in it. The goal is to send news from outside the office.
The smartphones we tried range from Siemens, Nokia, Samsung, and others. However, in the 1990s, there were no sophisticated smartphones that could send news as fast as today’s smartphones. In the past, smartphones could be used to access the internet after being operated with several steps. The result is not as smooth as now.
Now android smartphones can be used to send text and pictures in just three steps. Point the cursor to the delivery, select the destination, then press send (send). How easy. This is heaven for journalists who send news scripts from outside the office.
But the convenience and comfort that ended in sorrow. Accompanied by the “storm” of the internet. Everything is internet.
Where is the growth of internet-based media, which is called online media or cyber media? The habit of reading through print media eroded. Advertising spending has partially shifted to digital media.
Print media lost most of their advertising revenue. One by one print media cover. All over the world of print media, such as newspapers, tabloids, and magazines, many are out of business and closed.
The digital era has become entrenched, displacing old media traditions. The method of distributing media is different, newsroom traditions have changed, because every minute news can be broadcast through online media.
Journalism began to change. News that has not been confirmed as true may air, pending confirmation results. Everything is done for the sake of speed. (*)
