Jurnal Ilmu Komunikasi
P-ISSN 1693-3028; E-ISSN 2407-8220
Accredited Sinta 2 based on the Decree No. 200/M/KPT/2020
Copyright © 2024 Published by Department of Communication Studies, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional "Veteran" Yogyakarta.
This is an open access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
18
Producing News Stories on the YouTube Platform
by Mobile Journalists in Indonesia
Roswita Oktavianti
1
, Sinta Paramita
2
, Gregorius Genep Sukendro
3
1,2,3
Faculty of Communication, Universitas Tarumanagara, Jalan Letjen S.Parman No 1, Jakarta, 11440, Indonesia
E-mail: roswitao@fikom.untar.ac.id
1*
; sintap@fikom.untar.ac.id
2
; geneps@fikom.untar.ac.id
3
*Corresponding author
Abstract
Mobile journalism has been a mainstay in some news media outlets as audiences migrate to smaller screens
for news. In response to the competitive media environment, organizations embrace mobile technology to
expand the scope of their content. This article employs emerging perspectives as one of the organizational
theory approaches. This study aims to determine the process behind news stories created by mobile journalists
depending on their institution, the current circumstances, and technological advances. This study compares
mobile journalists from two different news YouTube channels in Indonesia. Researchers collected data by
observing news videos and interviewing news editors. The result showed that rules upheld by the media
organizations would determine their productivity, the topic of news stories, and the quality of news sources.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the news creation process as they had to work remotely. In addition, it
is worth noting that mobile journalists must shoot and edit videos and have a multimedia mindset. This study
suggests that a newsroom must have stricter rules and guidelines as it will be the main factor in producing
news videos on YouTube channels. Journalists should also be prepared to adopt digital technology to cope with
unprecedented situations.
Keywords: Mobile Journalism; Organizational Theory; YouTube News Stories
Abstrak
Jurnalisme seluler telah menjadi unggulan di beberapa media berita karena semakin banyak khalayak
mengakses berita melalui layar telepon genggam. Lanskap media yang kompetitif membuat organisasi harus
merangkul teknologi dengan cara memperluas cakupan konten mereka. Artikel ini menganalisis jurnalisme
seluler dengan menggunakan perspektif baru/berkembang (emerging) sebagai salah satu pendekatan teori
organisasi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui proses produksi berita oleh jurnalis seluler dilihat dari
institusi, kondisi terkini, dan kemajuan teknologi. Studi ini membandingkan jurnalis seluler pada dua saluran
YouTube berita di Indonesia. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan cara observasi video dan wawancara editor.
Hasilnya, aturan yang diterapkan oleh organisasi media akan menentukan produktivitas, topik yang diangkat,
dan kualitas sumber berita. Pandemi COVID-19 juga mempengaruhi pembuatan berita karena jurnalis harus
bekerja sepenuhnya dari rumah. Selain itu, jurnalis seluler saat ini bertugas mengambil gambar, menyunting
dan memiliki pola pikir multimedia. Penelitian menyarankan agar ruang redaksi memiliki aturan dan panduan
yang ketat dalam hal manajemen dan pemberitaan karena akan mempengaruhi produksi berita di saluran
YouTube. Jurnalis seluler juga harus dipersiapkan untuk beradaptasi dengan teknologi digital agar mampu
mengatasi situasi yang tidak terduga seperti pandemi.
Kata kunci: Berita di Saluran YouTube; Jurnalisme Seluler; Teori Organisasi
Introduction
Digital devices have changed how
journalists produce and disseminate news
stories to audiences. During the COVID-19
pandemic, journalism practice has been
increasingly accelerating its transformation.
More and more news media outlets employ
mobile journalists to create news stories.
These marked the initial transition from
online-only to video-audio media outlets.
Mobile journalists, so-called “mojos/
MoJo” or solo journalists, so-called “sojos,”
a term that refers to a journalist who gathers,
Volume 22, No. 1 April 2024, 18-28
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31315/jik.v22i1.6907
Submitted: 17 April 2022, Revised: 11 January 2023, Accepted: 24 April 2024