UMN and the American Embassy Hold an Indonesian Data and Computing Journalism 2022 Conference

The Digital Journalism Study Program at Multimedia Nusantara University (UMN) held the Data and Computational Journalism Conference Indonesia (DCJ-CI) 2022. (Doc. UMN)

TANGERANG – The conference aims to equip journalists with extensive expertise and knowledge in preventing or minimizing the occurrence of disinformation when reporting news before, during, and after the pandemic. The Digital Journalism Study Program at Multimedia Nusantara University (UMN) held the Data and Computational Journalism Conference Indonesia (DCJ-CI) 2022. This event was held for four days, from 27 to 30 July 2022, in a hybrid manner.

The first day of the conference and workshop were held directly on the UMN campus and attended online by Michael Quinlan, the Spokesperson for the United States Embassy in Indonesia. UMN higher-ups also participated in the event: Dr. Ninok Leksono, M.A. (UMN Chancellor), Ir. Andrey Andoko, M.Sc. (Deputy Chancellor for General Administration and Finance at UMN), Adi Marsiela (Chair of the Alliance of Independent Journalists), Wahyu Dhyatmika (Secretary General of the Indonesian Cyber ​​Media Association (AMSI)), Samiaji Bintang Nusantara, S.T., M.A. (Head of the Journalism Study Program), Utami Diah Kusumawati (DCJ-CI 2022 Project Officer).

DCJ-CI 2022 is Indonesia and Southeast Asia’s first and foremost data journalism conference. This annual conference consists of a series of events. It will showcase the best data journalism practices, explore emerging technologies, showcase various data tools, and become a venue for data journalism and technology knowledge exchange between the United States and Indonesian practitioners.

This annual conference began with a series of data journalism workshops attended by journalists, lecturers, and journalism students from 2019-2021. The workshop activities were held in several cities in Indonesia, such as Aceh, Padang, Palu, Jakarta, Surabaya, Palembang, Banjarmasin, and Makassar.

Utami Diah Kusumawati, Project Officer of DCJ-CI 2022. (Doc. UMN)

Utami explained that this event was fully funded by the United States Embassy to Indonesia and fully supported by Multimedia Nusantara University. They saw the need for journalists to improve their abilities related to processing and understanding data and applying computing tools.

“We see that an international conference on data and computing journalism needs to be held in Indonesia. We hope that this event can be a family event and an exchange of knowledge on data and computing journalism between practitioners and educators, both Indonesian and overseas,” Utami concluded.

Michael Quinlan, Spokesperson for the United States Embassy of Indonesia (Doc. UMN)

The United States Embassy hopes likewise. Michael conveyed that he hopes DCJ-CI 2022 can share the best practices in data journalism, exploration of data journalism technology, and technology among experts from various countries, especially from the United States.

Michael explained that this activity aims to equip journalists with skills and knowledge to present accurate data-related information. Over the past two years, we have had to adapt to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has changed the way of life and obtaining information.

“The role of journalists is very important in disseminating the latest information and news related to COVID-19. Through a series of workshops that have been held virtually in six cities by the DCJ-CI team, journalists have learned how to provide important information using detailed visualization so that readers can still understand and see data better,” he continued.

Indonesian journalists must have capabilities that must be continuously improved with training, tools, and the ability to obtain data for news that will be conveyed to the public.

Dr. Ninok Leksono, M.A. Chancellor of UMN (Doc. UMN)

Ninok has been in the world of journalism for almost 42 years and understands the evolution of journalism, which is increasing according to the challenges that arise. According to him, data and computational journalism is something new and intended to improve Indonesian journalists’ professionalism.

“In the past, in the press council, I handled the competency test. So each journalist from time to time must be equipped with retraining of his professional abilities,” he continued.

Ninok hopes that not only students who take part but also Indonesian journalists as they must have new insights. The profession should not be left as it is but must be taken to a higher professional level. So journalists have more tools and knowledge to make them smarter, quicker analyzing skills, and can interpret various facts.

Ir. Andrey Andoko, M.Sc., Vice Chancellor for General Administration and Finance of UMN (Doc. UMN)

Likewise, according to Andrey, UMN’s contribution to this conference is important as an education constitution with a Journalism study program to help improve the competence of prospective journalists in their profession.

“Regarding yesterday’s pre-event workshop on the data journalism curriculum followed by university lecturers, it is hoped that it will spread to various universities. We hope to make data journalism be available in every journalism education curriculum,” he continued.

Adi Marsiela, Head of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (Doc. UMN)

Fundamental changes in journalism are significant and impact many aspects of the information ecosystem. Data journalism is one solution to rediscover the relevance of journalism to the public.

“One of the challenges to later develop data journalism in Indonesia is the availability of data. That’s why in yesterday’s pre-event, “finding the data” can be seen in the curriculum,” Adi said.

Wahyu Dhyatmika – Secretary General of the Indonesian Cyber Media Association (Doc. UMN)

Wahyu assessed that the existence of this conference is significant because data journalism is one of the answers to overcome the crisis facing journalism today. There are two crises, namely digital distraction and the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Digital distraction is changing the media business model, the way journalists work, and the way the public consumes information. During the pandemic, there were many activities that the media couldn’t do and experienced a drastic decline as a source of income,” he said.

Apart from the United States, this conference will present experts from several other countries, such as the UK, Nepal, Japan, and Switzerland, and will be attended by journalists, researchers, academics, and those who use data in their work.

By Annisa Maulida | UMN News Service

English translation by Levina Chrestella Theodora

Kuliah di Jakarta untuk jurusan program studi Informatika| Sistem Informasi | Teknik Komputer | Teknik Elektro | Teknik Fisika | Akuntansi | Manajemen| Komunikasi Strategis | Jurnalistik | Desain Komunikasi Visual | Film dan Animasi | Arsitektur | D3 Perhotelan , di Universitas Multimedia Nusantara. www.umn.ac.id