Yogyakarta, December 29th 2022—Magister Program in Communication Science Program at Faculty of Social and Political Sciences Universitas Gadjah Mada held a student communication discussion called Diskoma Edisi 5 on Thursday (29/12). This discussion discusses various public communication issues in Indonesia in 2022. In this virtual discussion, Dr. Nahria, S. Sos., M.Sc. (Lecturer at Universitas Muhammadiyah Papua), Andi Fauziah Astrid S. Sos, M.Sc (Lecturer at UIN Alauddin Makassar), Nyarwi Ahmad, S.I.P., M.Sc., Ph.D. (Lecturer at Universitas Gadjah Mada), and Ferdinandus Jehalut, S.Fil. (Student of Magister Program in Communication Science UGM).
“Public communicators must always be adaptive to all forms of change due to developments in information and communication technology. While, still reflecting on social, cultural, and local wisdom,” said Dr. Nahria, S.Sos., M.Sc. as a Lecturer at Universitas Muhammadiyah Papua.
Various issues related to public communication in Indonesia are often in the spotlight. Public communication itself is an important sign of a democratic society. In this communication, the community is involved in exchanging ideas in a public space to discuss issues and public interests.
Nyarwi Ahmad, S.I.P., M.Sc., Ph.D. as a Lecturer at Universitas Gadjah Mada explained that “Our public communication system is fragmented and understood in various perspectives.”
Public communication is still an issue in Indonesia. Public sphere which should play the role of facilitating public communication is tainted by the swift flow of misinformation. It would not be an exaggeration if the statement ‘Indonesia is an emergency hoax’ appears, because of this problem requires serious handling, especially on social media.
“The use of social media as a medium of public communication in the digital era can be an efficient solution. However, the next challenge is how to create healthy public communication, in the current era of digitalization?” said Andi Fauziah Astrid S. Sos, M.Si. as a Lecturer at UIN Alauddin Makassar.
Persoalan yang tidak kalah penting, dalam isu-isu publik tertentu, pemerintah tampak gagap dalam melakukan komunikasi publik. Komunikasi publik dalam hal ini berperan dalam memberikan penjelasan kepada masyarakat termasuk melakukan edukasi.
An issue that is no less important, in particular public issues, is that the government appears to be stuttering in public communication. Public communication in this case plays a role in providing explanations to the public including conducting an education.
Ferdinandus Jehalut, S. Fil. as a Student of Magister Program in Communication Science UGM said that “Discourse and public opinion emerge from communication and collective sentiment in civil society. So that is very necessary to communicate the message to the public in a correct and interesting way.”
The community expects the government and related institutions to be present to provide explanations and respond to public concerns.