Cianjur - Chairman of Commission V of the West Java DPRD Yomanius Untung, assessed that credibility and integrity are the main foundations that every journalist must have in carrying out the journalistic profession because it is an important capital to maintain public trust in the press.
"Journalists who lose credibility and integrity not only damage their personal reputation, but also lower public confidence in the press as a whole," Yomanius said in front of participants in the Journalist Competency Test (UKW) in Bandung, Sunday.
He explained that the credibility of journalists is built through three main aspects, formal, normative, and social. The formal aspect, journalists must have a UKW certificate working for a legitimate press company, as well as complying with Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning the Press.
Meanwhile, in terms of norms, journalists are required to uphold accuracy, independence, balance, and carry out journalistic duties with good faith without being influenced by certain interests.
In the social aspect, journalists must be able to maintain public trust through responsible journalistic work and professional behavior, including in using social media.
In journalistic practice, Yomanius emphasized that every information must be verified before being published, confirmed by at least two independent sources.
"Giving the right to reply, transparency in the use of anonymous sources, and the application of the principle of covering both sides are part of the implementation of journalistic ethics that must not be ignored," he said.
The press is the fourth pillar of democracy so that credibility and integrity are not just a choice, but a professional obligation that must be maintained by every person in the press.
Where this was conveyed as a speaker entitled "Journalist's Credibility and Integrity: Concepts, Implementation, and Actual Cases in the Field", where integrity is an important element that distinguishes professional journalists from ordinary information disseminators.
"Integrity is reflected through honesty in presenting facts, independence from conflicts of interest, efforts to minimize the negative impact of reporting on vulnerable groups, and responsibility for every journalistic work published," he said.
He also reminded journalists to reject all forms of gratification and maintain the independence of the profession, where the culture of accepting envelopes from sources and hiding conflicts of interest, according to him, is a serious threat to the credibility of the press.
"The behavior of journalists on social media is also a reflection of professionalism that can affect the level of public trust in the media," he said as quoted by Antara.
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