News Agency to Play Role of Information 'Curator'

by: Aditya E.S. Wicaksono Palembang, S Sumatra (Antara) - The national news agency should play a role of an information 'curator' in the rapidly evolving digital era, stated a senior journalist. "News agencies, such as Antara should act like a curator to help guide the public through the swift 'tsunami of information'," Chief Editor of ANTV and Vivanews Zulfiani Lubis noted here Tuesday. Zulfiani Lubis, who was a keynote speaker at a workshop established by the Confederation of ASEAN Journalist (CAJ) remarked that the growing social media and digital era has posed numerous challenges for news agencies. The swift flow of information on the internet, especially the social media, demands news agencies to verify credibility of the information sources. "It is similar to what is done in the Associated Press (AP). They assign a senior journalist to monitor information on the social media, such as on Twitter," explained Zulfiani Lubis, who is familiarly known as Uni Lubis. When an event occurs, their job is to verify its occurrence through reliable and credible sources, bearing in mind that in the last five years, breaking news such as the Boston bombing and the death of Whitney Houston were not spread by the official media, but through the social media. "We are no longer required to be the first to spread the news, but as those who deliver the accurate ones," Uni Lubis noted, adding that the other media outlets will still depend on news agencies to source their news. Therefore, it is necessary for a news agency to have a solid social media team. "Social media will even work in our favor because our responsibility as journalists becomes even greater in the digital era," Lubis emphasized. Twitter can be used to monitor the current news and compare it with others as well as to monitor which celebrities or public officials' statements need to be followed up, Uni pointed out. The flow of information on the social media, especially in Indonesia, is considerably large and its Twitter community is ranked fifth in the world, while Jakarta ranks first in twitter traffic in the world. "We are quite vocal, including criticizing the government," Uni stated. (*)