Christian Journalists Should Have an Integrity in Every Aspect of Their Life

The understanding of a Christian journalist?s life integration was comprehensively reviewed by  an expert journalist, as well as experienced practitioner in several media in the USA, Prof .J. Douglas Tarpley , Ph.D., in a seminar entitled ?Beliefs and the Media?, at UPH campus (21 /1). Another speaker from UPH was Prof. Dr. Tjipta Lesmana ? a  political communication expert, and acting as the moderator was Prof. Aleksius Jemadu – Dean of Faculty of Social & Political Sciences, UPH.

In the discussion, Tarpley emphasized on the principle of being good journalists means that you must be able to select and insert useful values to readers through your writing.

According to Tarpley, we must understand the basic natures of human: human beings are valuable, have good morality, have limitation, and at the same time are also rotten. When clearly understand this very basic of human natures, we won?t become cynical journalists, but skeptical ones in a healthy context.

Another point in the discussion was that as Christian journalists, we must always respect the value of honesty and freedom in a healthy concept. We must also be objective and not subjective, because we are all God’s creations, having the same level.

Responding to the presentation delivered by Prof. Tarpley, Prof. Tjipta Lesmana said that in Indonesia, it is extremely difficult to apply an objective journalism. This is due to the fact that Indonesian journalists are not as free as American journalists when it comes to presenting news and information. They tend to be controlled by people with higher social status, wealth, etc.

Prof.Tjipta Lesmana added that, to be a journalist with Christianity base in Indonesia is possible, but it is extremely difficult. He continued saying that in order to be people with good morality in Indonesia would be very hard, especially for journalists, because most of them need power and money.

At the end of the seminar, Prof. Aleksius concluded that, to create good journalists in this changing society, a social agent with integrity or the one with strong basic of knowledge is urgently needed. Meanwhile, the role of universities would be to give good trainings in order to produce responsible journalists in the community, without stressing merely on indoctrinations, but through education, persuasion, and respect for the integrity and dignity of human beings.

Hundreds of audience, consisted of students, lecturers and media practitioners, attended this seminar. Tarpley will also be delivering  seminar for public with the topic ‘Power, Journalism and The Media’, that  will be held at Aryaduta Hotel, Jakarta (22/1). (dian)

UPH Media Relations