National Press Day
We must change our attitudes for the better
Update | February 9, 2016 11:31 GMT+7 Ikon jumlah hit 146 view(s) Ikon komentar 0 comment(s)

MATARAM, KOMPAS — Social attitudes change unceasingly. The changes affect not only conventional mass media but also other businesses. We must deal with the changes strategically and creatively to ensure our media and businesses are resilient and continue to grow.

These are several points that 2016 National Press Day panel discussions concluded in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, on Monday, Feb. 8. Panel speakers included CEOs of state-owned enterprises, such as Pertamina CEO Dwi Soetjipto, Bank Mandiri CEO Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Semen Indonesia CEO Suparni and Garuda Indonesia CEO Arif Wibowo.

The four CEOs underlined how changing social attitudes affected businesses and directly impacted mass media. In turn, mass media and businesses are closely intertwined as mass media and society depend on businesses for their livelihood.

Budi Gunadi gave the example of his three children, and many around them, who no longer read mass media. Society no longer depends on mass media for information; social media plays a larger role in disseminating information.

The business models of mass media are likewise behind the times. Future challenges will also come from rising paper prices and the fact that society is moving away from paper.

Even so, Suparni, Budi Gunadi and Arif said conventional or traditional mass media remained effective in communicating with society. Mass media and businesses need to make their business models more flexible.

Development agenda

The group discussion that took place on Monday pointed to the nation's considerable cultural endowment. The discussion ended by urging the government to start developing a national cultural agenda and to implement it at the many different levels of government.

Culture has an important role in developing society. Culture can manifest itself in various terms, from education, politics and social affairs to economics.

The group discussion was titled "Regents and Mayors at the Forefront of National Culture". Six of the eight recipients of the 2015 Culture Award from the Indonesian Journalists Association spoke in the discussion. They were Banyuwangi Regent Abdullah Azwar Anas, Purwakarta Regent Dedi Mulyadi, Tegal Regent Enthus Susmono, Belu Regent Wilhelmus Foni, Wakatobi Regent Hugua and Sawahlunto Mayor Ali Yusuf.

Also present at the discussion were Wariki Sutikno, director for politics and communication at the National Development Planning Agency, and Pudentia MPSS, lecturer and researcher at the School of Cultural Sciences at the University of Indonesia.

Pudentia said Indonesia's culture had proven its mettle as a capable envoy as the country had built regional and international links. Furthermore, it was also an important asset in dealing with globalization and region-wide competition under the ASEAN Economic Community.

"It is incumbent on the government to set up a national cultural development strategy over the next five to 10 years," she said. "The strategy must be set up correctly and be based on results of surveys and research."

Another obstacle, Pudentia said, was the weak coordination and intermittent communication among the 33 government institutions that deal with culture. With such institutional silos, they failed to reach systemic coordination, which could affect ideas and their proper implementation.

(RUNIK SRI ASTUTI/TRI AGUNG KRISTANTO)

Sumber: http://print.kompas.com/baca/2016/02/09/We-must-change-our-attitudes-for-the-better