"In the context of press freedom and the media's important role, we should commend the president for openly communicating with the public through the press, irrespective of the media," the Press Council Deputy Chair, Muhammad Agung Dharmajaya, stated here on Friday.
Dharmajaya highlighted that the press serves as an essential channel for disseminating information, adhering to journalistic standards to provide news that is both useful and significant to the public.
"Another function is control. Responsible journalism must report on both what is going well and what is not," he affirmed.
He stated that while conducting public communication through mass media, President Prabowo, as a source, has the right to speak to any media channel.
"There is no obligation regarding which channels or platforms to speak to. Any professional press entity has the obligation to fulfill that function," he stated.
In agreement with Dharmajaya, the Press Council's Chairman of the Inter-Institutional Relations and Foreign Affairs Commission, Totok Suryanto, highlighted the president's respect for public criticism expressed through the media.
He remarked that this was evident during a televised interview of Prabowo with seven journalists in Hambalang, Bogor District, West Java, on Sunday (April 6).
President Prabowo held a dialogue with seven journalists from seven major mass media outlets in Indonesia.
The seven journalists in the meeting were Alfito Deannova (Editor-in-Chief of detikcom), Lalu Mara Satriawangsa (Editor-in-Chief of TvOne), Uni Lubis (Editor-in-Chief of IDN Times), Najwa Shihab (Founder of Narasi), Sutta Dharmasaputra (Editor-in-Chief of Kompas), Retno Pinasti (Editor-in-Chief of SCTV-Indosiar), and Valerina Daniel (TVRI News Anchor).
Related news: President Prabowo holds discussion with media leaders in Hambalang
Translator: Nadia, Kenzu
Editor: Primayanti
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