Jokowi: Press Opening Hope For Ordinary People Like Me To Be President

Photo: BPMI Setpres/Laily Rachev

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has a number of experiences with press personnel. In fact, because the press also finally became president for two terms even though Jokowi was an ordinary person before.

This was conveyed by Jokowi when giving a speech at the 2023 National Press Day in Medan, North Sumatra today, Thursday, February 9. Initially, he said the press had a big contribution in the country.

"Since the beginning, the media crew has contributed greatly to voicing the invitation to the struggle for independence, voicing innovations for development, and becoming the main support for democratization," Jokowi said as broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube.

Jokowi then told that he had always been followed by journalists since he became Mayor of Solo to become a journalist.

Many places Jokowi visited with the press. Starting from checking the market to meeting fishermen are all done together.

"I went there, came here, thank you, I went together (with the press, ed)," he said.

Thus, he assessed that the press was able to open up hope for ordinary people who seemed to be president.

"Terbukti, insan pers telah membuka harapan orang biasa seperti saya bisa jadi presiden," tegas eks Gubernur DKI Jakarta itu.

Even so, Jokowi reminded the press world not to be fine. One of the highlights is the quality and content of journalism which only prioritizes the commercial side and sensational small content.

Jokowi said, if this continues, the quality of journalism will be lost. So, all parties must prevent it by making responsible reports.

"Everyone is free to make news and free as freely as possible. Now the main problem in my opinion is to make responsible news," he said.

"This kind of thing should not dominate our society, the media conventional that is circulating is increasingly being pressed in the news map," he concluded.