PACK JOURNALISM AND HOMOGENITY OF PUBLIC INFORMATION

Abstract

Abstrak Dunia jurnalistik mengalami dinamika yang sangat pesat terutama dengan kemunculan teknologi dan media baru yang mengubah proses kerja jurnalis maupun penyebaran karya jurnalistik itu sendiri. Salah satu perubahan yang cukup signifikan adalah terkait pola kerja jurnalis di lapangan. Dengan segala keterbatasan, jurnalis harus mampu memenuhi tuntutan media dan pasar yang semakin ketat akan persaingan informasi. Dalam perkembangannya, munculah fenomena pack journalism dalam proses peliputan berita di lapangan. Penelitian ini akan menjabarkan bagaimana bentuk dan factor terjadinya praktik pack journalism di kalangan jurnalis khususnya wilayah Yogyakarta dalam mendapatkan berita. Penelitian juga akan memaparkan bagaimana implikasi pack journalism terhadap homogenitas informasi bagi masyarakat dan kaitannya dengan pelanggaran etika jurnalistik. Pendekatan studi kasus digunakan unt u k menelaah persoalan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan praktik pack journalism terjadi karena adanya sistem beat yang diterapkan perusahaan media bagi jurnalis dalam proses peliputan berita di lapangan. Pack Journalism juga terjadi karena adanya ketergantungan satu sama lain antar jurnalis yang bersumber dari perilaku malas dalam mencari sumber berita. Pack Journalism pada ak h irnya menimbulkan impikasi lain terhadap produk informasi yang menjadi homogen. Pack journalism juga menjadi celah munculnya pelanggaran etika jurnalistik seperti praktik jurnalisme kloning. Abstract  The world of journalism experienced a very rapid dynamics, especially with the emergence of new technologies and media that change the work process of journalism and the spread of journalistic work itself. One of the most significant changes is related to the work pattern of journalists in the field. With all the limitations, journalists must be able to meet the increasingly tight media and market demand for information competition. In its development, comes the phenomenon of pack journalism in the news coverage process in the field. This research will describe how the form and factor of pack journalism practice in journalists, especially in Yogyakarta region to get news. The research will also explain how the implications of pack journalism on the homogeneity of information for the community and its relation with violation of journalistic ethics. A case study approach is used to examine the problem. The results showed that the practice of pack journalism occurred because of the beat system applied by media companies for journalists in news coverage process in the field. Pack Journalism also occurs because of the interdependence of each other between journalists who sourced from lazy behavior in searching for news sources. Pack Journalism ultimately leads to other implications for information products that become homogeneous. Pack journalism is also a gap in the emergence of violations of journalistic ethics such as the practice of cloning journalism.