"Verification Is the Main Problem With Indonesian Journalism. It’s a Big Issue"

Gandrasta Bangko’s thumbs get people talking. They don’t spark rows or bring politicians to tears, but the witty work they do on Twitter gets more than 8,500 people, not to mention the next generation of Indonesian journalists, thinking and discussing. The business director for Media Satu magazine group can’t escape the written word in any form.

With the help of social media outlets like Twitter, teachers like Gandrasta can converse with their students 24 hours a day, promoting provocative and timely discourse outside of the classroom touching on everything from political issues to more personal matters. The only downside for Gandrasta’s students is that he can also fire off 140-character homework assignments any time of day or night.

Right now you’re the business director at Media Satu, but you were a journalist for years and you still teach narrative journalism at the Pantau organization, plus most people would agree that you fire out some of the funniest tweets in town. Do you feel that once a writer always a writer?

I feel like it’s something I can’t escape, to report, to be a journalist. But business is a different challenge for me. As a journalist you learn about business and then later you use business to survive as a journalist.

How do you think the media has changed in the last five years?

I ask my students periodically, who read the newspaper today? Raise your hand. Who reads magazines? Raise your hand. Now nobody raises their hand. They have news coming directly to them. They’re overwhelmed by it. They don’t even have to come to the news, the news comes to them. It comes by itself. I live in Jakarta, right? I wouldn’t say this is true for all of Indonesia, but here in Jakarta we have iPads, mobiles …

So you’re saying that because we live in the capital and have access to all this technology we’re slowly killing magazines and newspapers?

Yes.

What do you think about journalists allegedly receiving cash or accepting some kind of ‘thank you’ for attending press conferences?

Does that still happen? That’s so bad. It’s forbidden for journalists to accept goodie bags. Because in the end, journalists will want more. They start comparing this company and that company and then it’s like, ‘Seriously, [I’ll come to the press conference] but what are you going to give me?’

I saw on your Twitter account that you spend a lot of time discussing politics. Is that a passion of yours?

Not necessarily. It’s more trivial to me than anything. I have students. I’m part of the Pantau organization and I’m an investigative journalist. So, I, we, talk about these things, but it’s not always politics.

So your students follow your Twitter account? That means when you say, ‘There’s nothing better than calling your father’s sister a slut,’ your students see that.

[Laughs] Yeah, they see that. I love Twitter because my followers always accept me as I am. Seriously, I can talk freely on Twitter here in Indonesia. And then in class, when I am face-to-face with my students, they say, ‘Oh, I saw that you said this on Twitter, we have to discuss this.’ So it opens discussion.

As a journalism lecturer what’s the No. 1 thing that you’re trying to instill in your students, the next generation of Indonesian journalists?

Verification. That’s the main problem with Indonesian journalism. It’s a very big issue. The heart, the core of journalism is verification and most journalists in Indonesia, including my students, forget the importance of verification. They leave the news raw. They’re just lazy.

As an openly gay man and an obvious fan of the power of Twitter, what do you think of @nickynmita, the Twitter account that supports gays and lesbians in Indonesia who are struggling with whether to come out of the closet. Do you think something like this is helpful or hurtful for people who might be struggling with the issue of whether or not to come out?

I think it’s a good thing, because being gay is not that easy. It’s so hard. When I was in junior high and high school I had a very hard time with it and I didn’t have any help personally from my religion or my family.

For kids who don’t know @nickynmita, it’s so helpful and it’s very important that there is an account out there that can offer that support.

Gandrasta Bangko was talking to Zack Petersen.

Follow Gandrasta on Twitter@gandrasta

Be the first to write your opinion!

Citra Graha Building 11th Floor, Suite 1102 | Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto Kav. 35-36 | Jakarta 12950 | Indonesia

Phone: +62 21 29957500 | Fax: +62 21 5200072 | BeritaSatu Media Holdings