ANTARA News Director Urges East Java Bureau to Strengthen Impactful Coverage
Surabaya (ANTARA) - Virgandhi Prayudantoro, Director of News at the National News Agency (LKBN) ANTARA, is encouraging the East Java bureau to strengthen impactful coverage through in-depth reporting, the provision of context, and the detection of public issues.
“Regional bureaus can no longer simply wait for invitations or events on the diary. We must actively uncover society’s problems, act as hubs for verifying information, and produce news that offers benefit and context,” said Virgandhi Prayudantoro during a visit to the ANTARA East Java bureau in Surabaya on Saturday.
He said regional bureaus need to transform from being mere reporters of events into detectors of public issues capable of delivering useful information and providing context to the public.
“One issue should not stop at one story. Develop it further in terms of policy, implementation, impact on beneficiaries, obstacles, and innovation or comparisons with other regions, so that the coverage is richer and more impactful,” he said.
According to him, public service news must also contain context, verifiable data, at least two sources, the voice of the community, and explanations of benefits and obstacles, so as to provide added value for readers.
“The composition of coverage must comprise more in-depth reporting than ceremonial news. Our focus is also to support strategic national issues, ranging from food security and energy security to human resource resilience,” he said.
In addition, Virgandhi encouraged the ANTARA East Java bureau to cover micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and tourism not merely as promotion, but to examine value chains, digitalisation, licensing, and the economic impact on communities.
He also affirmed that media subscribers remain a priority, while social media should be used to widen reach through visual and multimedia content.
On the commercial side, the ANTARA East Java bureau was asked to strengthen customer mapping, offer standardised products, and continue to maintain the separation of journalistic and business functions.