Opening BJI Class, Chair of AJI Lhokseumawe Emphasizes the Importance of Journalists Complying with the Journalistic Code of Ethics to Maintain Public Trust
I taught the first meeting of the BJI class.
Lhokseumawe – Chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Lhokseumawe Irmansyah opened the Basri Daham Journalism Institute (BJI) Batch VI class in the lecture hall of the Malikussaleh University Postgraduate campus, Lhokseumawe, Saturday (23/09/2023).
BJI is a journalism school founded by AJI Lhokseumawe in 2012. For Class VI, 15 participants registered. Most of the participants were students from a number of state and private universities in Lhokseumawe, and the rest had just earned a bachelor's degree. A number of BJI Class participants this time have worked as journalists in the last one or two years.
Irmansyah hopes that the BJI Class participants can become new friends of AJI Lhokseumawe to unite and move together with other civil elements in Aceh in an effort to continue to encourage press independence and freedom of expression.
Article 2 of Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning the Press states that "Press freedom is a form of popular sovereignty based on the principles of democracy, justice and the supremacy of the law."
In accordance with Article 6 of the Press Law, the five-point role of the press is to fulfill the public's right to know; uphold the basic values of democracy, encourage the realization of the supremacy of law and human rights, and respect diversity; develop public opinion based on correct, accurate and correct information; carry out supervision, criticism, correction and suggestions on matters relating to the public interest; fight for justice and truth.
"We hope that new BJI participants will take this journalism class to the fullest, because they are expected to become professional journalists in the future. AJI Lhokseumawe emphasizes the importance for journalists to comply with the Journalistic Code of Ethics as a way to maintain the trust of the audience or public. "Moreover, currently the public is increasingly intelligent and critical in responding to the news," said Irman.
Irmansyah said that the BJI Class is not only taught material about writing straight news, but also features, in-depth reporting, investigative journalism and environmental journalism.
"When these friends later become journalists, including those who are already working as journalists, don't get into the habit of just waiting for press releases. I hope that you don't just cover it to write straight news, and don't just quote statements from regional officials and law enforcement officers, for example. "However, journalists must be diligent in verification, including reporting, and continue to improve their skills in how to dig up important data and documents relating to the public interest," said Irman.
According to Irman, journalists in this digital era are required to multitask, so they must be more creative in producing journalistic work that is interesting, high quality and will educate the public. Including how to distribute journalistic products via social media platforms.
BJI Executive Director Zaki Mubarak said that the BJI Class participants this time would be trained by a number of professional journalists, including content creators. Apart from that, AJI Lhokseumawe Secretary Jafaruddin will share knowledge about digital security. BJI will also invite former Chairmen of AJI Lhokseumawe to take part in this journalism class. Among them, Zainal Bakri, Ayi Jufridar, Mohd. Nasier H., Saiful Bahri, Masriadi, and Agustiar. BJI Batch I alumnus Zikri Maulana, who is a video and photo journalist—has achieved a series of achievements in national level competitions in recent years—will also fill the journalism class.
"BJI classes for four months study in the room every Saturday, including practice and evaluation, followed by a two-month internship in mainstream media," said the son of (the late) Basri Daham, one of the founders of AJI Lhokseumawe and the first chairman.
Zaki said that BJI had produced many professional journalists who worked in local and national media. "There are even BJI alumni who have become international media correspondents," said Zaki, who manages BJI with T. Fakhrizal and Sarina.
After the opening and introduction between the BJI management and the journalism class participants, one of the founders of AJI Lhokseumawe Ayi Jufridar explained the material "Strengthening AJI Values: The Sinargalih Declaration, and the Establishment of AJI".
Ayi also talked a lot about her experiences as a journalist since Aceh was still in armed conflict. He encouraged the BJI Class VI Class participants and answered every question during the discussion session which was quite intense.
"I agree with Irman who previously emphasized the importance of journalists complying with the Journalistic Code of Ethics (KEJ). Journalists must be disciplined in testing every piece of information. "Obeying KEJ is what differentiates journalists from writers on social media," said the former Chair of AJI Lhokseumawe.
Ayi, who also teaches journalism at Malikussaleh University, also shared material on "Synergy of Mass Media Content with Social Media", "Digitalization Circles and Media Economics", and "The Role of Media Economics in the Mass Media Industry".[]
