Jakarta – Community Services of LSPR Communication and Business Institute have held an online seminar entitled, “Health Journalism vs. Cultivation of Anxiety in the Pandemic COVID-19 Period”, which was the eighth seminar of the Community Services Webinar Series.
Mr. Sri Tunggul Panindriya, M.A.
This webinar was held on Friday, 3 July, 2020, with Mr. Sri Tunggul Panindriya, M.A. and Mrs. Martha Warta Silaban, M.Si as the speaker. They discussed how media exposure in a crisis, for instance during the coronavirus pandemic, can increase public anxiety about something that is uncertain, with participants in the webinar.
Mrs. Martha Warta Silaban, M.Si
During this pandemic, it does not only mean news coverage about health issues are important but also other issues, in order to create balanced news reports. Through this webinar it is hoped that news reporters can be more critical in processing news related to the CoronaVirus, pay more attention to the delivery of information through word selection, the use of visual aids, and more positive text tones, and also to remain consistent in including action words of the “task forces”, such as invitation to “wear face mask”, “wash hands regularly”, and so on.
Speakers and Webinar Participants
Mr. Jamalul Insan, Head of the Education Sector of the Press Council, who was also present in this webinar, said that the Indonesian people still need special journalism in the health sector. Even though in practice it is still difficult to do, according to Mr. Insan, providing correct information to the public is indeed a mandatory duty of the news anchor to clear up and not create turbidity to the atmosphere and situation. He also suggested that specialisation and deepening of scientific journalism related to the field of health be initiated since the period of study at universities or colleges.
