“The State of Science Journalism in Indonesia”

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The Story

“The State of Science Journalism in Indonesia”
https://ijnet.org/en/story/state-science-journalism-indonesia
by Arpan Rachman
International Journalists’ Network, July 1, 2024

The Pitch

Harry Surjadi’s presidency of the World Federation of Scientific Journalists since 2021 has brought Indonesia into the spotlight of the international scientific journalism community. According to the 2023 Global Innovation Index report, Indonesia improved its ranking from 87th in 2021 to 61st in science and technology output. However, it is ranked 77th in commercial sophistication and 85th in research and human resources.

The stakeholders’ perspectives shed light on the situation of science journalism in Indonesia. In 800 words of text and images, I will highlight the SWOT analysis as the main point of convergence between Indonesia’s developing science journalism scene and the country’s science and technology index regarding business sophistication, human resources, and research. The topic of my pitch is a case study.

Interviewees:
1) Melvinas Priananda, the Executive Director of the Society of Indonesian Science Journalists (SISJ).
2) Harry Surjadi, President of the World Federation of Science Journalists.
3) Wulan Koagouw, a biologist.
4) Nine journalists and ex-journalists are respondents for SWOT’s questionnaire.

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