During a visit to the ANTARA Bureau Office in East Java here on Wednesday, he said that ANTARA should be optimally utilized by both the central and regional governments.
“ANTARA, as the spearhead of news dissemination, must truly be utilized by the government,” he added.
During the visit, he stressed that the news agency should be actively involved in all government activities and publications.
According to Soekartono, the government’s key goals related to food security, commodity exports, progress in education, and the health sector, among others, must be widely reported through ANTARA.
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“If the private media reports something once, ANTARA can report it three to four times. ANTARA must become the benchmark of national news reporting—like it once was,” he said.
He emphasized that amid a glut of social media narratives, ANTARA’s role as a counterbalance is becoming increasingly important, particularly in contributing constructive news about the government.
“Not all negative news is favored by the public. I have personally experienced that positive content on my personal social media actually receives better responses. This shows that people still want healthy and constructive information,” he said.
Head of ANTARA’s East Java Bureau, Rachmat Hidayat, welcomed Soekartono’s visit.
“We hope the government can endorse ANTARA to the public so that people can recognize ANTARA as the state news agency,” he said.
He added that ANTARA has long served as a government agency that consistently delivers positive and balanced news on government performance and achievements.
“Not only that, ANTARA has a clear segmentation, ensuring that the information it delivers reaches the right policymakers and readers,” he said.
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Translator: Willi, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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