News Sourcing Practices in Climate Reporting in Indonesia

ABSTRACT

This study investigates news sourcing practices in climate change reporting in Indonesia, a country that contributes significant carbon emissions and is among the world’s most vulnerable nations in the face of climate crises. This paper examines two types of news sources: sources in the form of persons or actors whom journalists ask for information and sources in the form of international news flows from news wires and international media organizations. Through qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 14 journalists and two editors-in-chief, I found three types of news sourcing practices that are currently adopted: news sourcing practices that use national actors as the main source; practices that use international news sources as cognitive inventory; and practices that rely on the international news flow. These practices are highly influenced by audience needs, the internet algorithm, and the news platforms for which the journalists work. The analysis also elucidates the transnational cooperation practices of several foreign public broadcasts in Indonesia.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate change
• Indonesian journalists
• international news flow
• news source
• interview
• news production

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Prof. Jens Wolling and the research group of empirical media research and empirical communication at Technische Universität Ilmenau for their valuable support and input on the study.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Interviews J4, 7,9, 12,13,14.

2 Interview J13.

3 Interview Interviews J1 and J8.

4 Interview J 11.

5 Interview J5, J10, J11, and J6.

6 Interview J12.

7 Interviews J2 and J3.

8 Interview J5, J10, J11, and J6.

9 Interview J5, J10, and J11.

10 Interview J5.

11 Interview J5,6,12,13,14.

12 Interview J12, 13, 14.

13 Interview EC1 and EC2.

14 Interview EC2.

15 Interview EC1 and J15.

16 Interview EC2.

17 Interview J1, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12.

18 Interview 17.

19 Interview J12.

20 Interview J9.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported through doctoral scholarship from the Foundation of German Industry (Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft).