Bakom Clarifies Homeless Media Partnership Issue with Government

The Government Communication Agency (Bakom) has stated that there is no contract whatsoever with homeless media affiliated with the Indonesia New Media Forum (INMF). “There is no contract, editorial directive, or binding partnership with any specific media to support the government,” wrote Deputy for Partnerships and Media Relations at Bakom, Kurnia Ramadhana, in his statement on Thursday (7/5). Kurnia explained that the meaning of ‘partner’ conveyed by Bakom Head M. Qodari yesterday was in the sense that media needs news, while the government, on the other hand, needs to convey information to the public. Kurnia stated that Bakom fully respects the independence of new media as well as conventional media. Meetings with various new media actors are solely aimed at opening communication channels and expanding access to public information. He noted that Bakom views new media as an important part of the public information ecosystem that still maintains its respective independence. Kurnia said that Bakom is open to criticism, corrections, and the cover both sides mechanism as part of a healthy democracy. “If there is any mention or framing that causes misunderstanding in the public space, it becomes a concern to be improved,” he said. Kurnia conveyed that Bakom received an audience request from INMF on Tuesday (5/5) previously. At the beginning of that meeting, INMF explained that they gathered to improve quality and development space. INMF also provided a document titled New Media Forum 2026. Within that document, names of New Media Players are listed. In that meeting, Bakom also asked several questions regarding the working mechanisms of new media. For example, the cover both sides mechanism that is usually a standard in conventional media. A day later, on Wednesday (6/5), Bakom held its weekly press conference, and new media was also present there. Bakom considers new media as communication partners just like conventional media. Bakom believes that new media needs to be reached to improve quality and standards so that its products become increasingly high-quality. “The mention of new media names in that press conference was based on the document provided by INMF,” said Kurnia.