Media and Technology

New Media for New World

VIVAnews - New media answers the demand of this era. Such was conveyed by new media analyst Ninok Leksono during a closed discussion entitled “Media Convergency: Chances and Challenges of New Media in Indonesia,” Tuesday, Dec 9.

Based on research that AC Nielsen conducted in the third quarter of 2008, quoted by Leksono, the performance of conventional media is slowing down. For instance, newspaper circulation decreases by 4 percent; magazine, 24 percent; tabloid, 12 percent. Meanwhile, internet media gain readers by around 17 percent.

Old media (conventional ones) do not adequately conform to today’s demand, said Leksono. He added that conventional media is less interactive and has longer interval between publications, such that it is less updated than new media. "Conventional media is also prone to fluctuations of paper prices, which are affected by the US dollar exchange rate."  

Leksono cited the recent terrorist attacks in India which claimed countless lives. According to him, when conventional media is busy seeking stories, people may have been informed via the internet through such social networking site as Twitter instantly. However, Leksono acknowledged that there are probably some inaccurate information. "But it is better if there is news," he said.

Head of Permanent Committee of Telecommunication Division at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, Anindya Bakrie, had similar opinion. He said that readers of print media decrease because they are too busy, they choose to watch TV, or they even stop buying print media due to increase in price. "Print media faces serious threats by declining readership," said Anindya.

According to Anindya, media convergence is therefore a must. As such related parties should prepare business consolidation: anticipating internet hype and the significance of cellular phones.

Yet, according to Leksono, the emergence of new media faces several obstacles: low penetration of the internet in Indonesia, which reaches only 12 percent of the population; ill-informed journalists about the technology implanted in new media; the incumbent (conventional media) continued interest to maintain high internet rate in Indonesia. The evidence of this, said Leksono, is that the price of internet bandwidth in Indonesia is still higher than it is in India.

Meanwhile, political analyst who is also VIVAnews President Commissioner Rizal Mallarangeng said that the emergence of new media is commonly signaled by the rise of new leadership that may optimize the cutting edge technology.

"At the time when radio was popular, John F. Kennedy appeared. Today, US President-elect Barack Obama has made use of the internet to gain victory," Mallarangeng stated.

The closed discussion is part of VIVAnews launching series. The event is attended by several figures such as Rahmat Junaidi, Budiono Darsono (founder of Detikcom), Haria Wirasma (Head of Indonesia Mobile and Online Content Association (IMOCA)), Erik Meijer (Bakrie Telecom), Ishadi SK (Trans TV), Ong Hok Chuan, Enda Nasution (blogger), Nukman Luthfie, Azkarmin Zaini (ANTV), Unny Lubis and Tony Seno Harsono (Microsoft).


Translated by: Bonardo Maulana Wahono

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29 Maret 2024