UNS — Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta has successfully established many prodigious alumni scattered in diverse regions in Indonesia. They are not only successful in their careers but also have extraordinary contributions and works of service to the nation and society. One of them is Ir. Arif Budisusilo, MM, an alumnus of the 1987 Faculty of Agriculture (FP) UNS who now serves as the President Director of the Solopos Media Group.
Arif, who previously served as Chief Editor of Bisnis Indonesia for the 2009-2016 period, established his name as a seasoned journalist in the national arena. For the special coverage for the National Press Day (HPN) celebration this year, uns.ac.id had the opportunity to explore Arif’s career journey, starting from his love of journalism as a student to his success in occupying high-profile positions in several media.
Through a conversation at the Zoom Cloud Meeting on Tuesday (8/2/2022), Arif admitted that he had loved the world of writing since he was in college. Before working as a journalist, he liked to send articles to numerous mass media, such as Suara Merdeka, Wawasan, Bernas, as well as ‘Panjebar Semangat,’ the oldest Javanese-language magazine in Indonesia. “I really liked writing when I was in university. I just continue my writing hobby while managing the magazines at the Faculty of Agriculture entitled Mahita, which later changed to Primordial,” said Arif, Tuesday (8/2/2022).
In addition to managing magazines at FP UNS, Arif also collaborated with students from other faculties to work on ‘Tabloid Komponen’ for the university level. Unfortunately, the tabloid was only short-lived because it was banned after criticizing the Normalization of Campus Life/Student Coordination Board (NKK/BKK) Policy during the New Order era.
Trying His Luck in the Capital
After completing his studies at UNS in 1992, Arif then moved to Jakarta to look for employment. Because he did not want to be unemployed, Arif took on various odd jobs while waiting for a job call from the many applications he had sent. Arif also admitted that he had worked as a salesman for electronic canvassing, encyclopedia books, and detailing pharmaceutical products. Even though he had to go through tough times in his life, Arif thought it made him have a more persistent mentality and provided valuable experiences for his current career and profession.
In short, Arif’s journey in the capital city began to show a bright spot when he was accepted to work as a reporter for the Harian Terbit newspaper, whose editorial office is in Pulogadung, East Jakarta. At this point, Arif was able to learn many lessons since the responsibilities he carried out as a reporter at Harian Terbit were no joke. He often struggles with the news that he must finish until late in the night, while the following early morning, Arif has to get ready to write yet another news. Arif recounted this experience in his writing entitled “Dare to Try, Not Afraid to Be Wrong.”
After ‘graduating’ from Harian Terbit, the former Chair of the Senate of the FP UNS from 1990 to 1992, he then joined the Bisnis Indonesia newspaper in February 1996. He said it took about four months to go through the recruitment process at Bisnis Indonesia. Arif said that, at that time, Bisnis Indonesia became a dream place for many journalists because of its massive impact on the business world.
In ‘Bisnis Indonesia,’ Arif’s career began to rise. Arief, who started his career as a reporter, then took on new positions as assistant editor, editor, managing editor, deputy editor-in-chief, and up to the Chief Editor of Bisnis Indonesia. Although now Arif is no longer leading Bisnis Indonesia, he has received a new mandate with a myriad of responsibilities as President Director of Solopos Media Group from its shareholders since the end of July 2020. In his new position, Arif is in charge of Solopos newspaper, ‘Koran Solo,’ Solopos.com, Solopos FM Radio, Jogja Daily, Star FM, Solopos Institute, Solopos Shop, and SoloposFood.
Media challenges in the era of disruption
Arif, who started his career as a newspaper reporter in the 90s, certainly understands how the media changes from conventional/paper to electronic newspaper. He said that when the digital disruption began to hit, the media had to be relevant to keep up with the rapid changes in the media industry ecosystem. “Consumers are continuously changing following what they want, the media to find news, to look for information, and how to be relevant,” said Arif.
Although there is numerous clickbait news to “spiced up” information for gaining readers’ curiosity, Arif said the media under his management does not want to apply such a scheme. For him, the essence of media is to convey information to the public while providing the best benefits to the public interest. Arif does not wish and firmly says that the Solopos Media Group does not want to go with the flow and will remain consistent in presenting news that moves the city of Solo and supports the Indonesian economy. This decision is mainly because he is aware that Solo is an important city in Central Java that plays a role in the economic sector and is even the epicenter of national politics. “Be the right journalist, the right media. The basic principle is always to deliver facts because facts cannot be manipulated, and the method in which the fact was presented should not be manipulated. Do not tell lies, let alone fabricated it, to the public,” he said.
At this year’s HPN, Arief advised that the function of journalism as a transmitter of public information must have a positive impact on the public. They must provide information, entertainment, and education. Hence, media should be improving public lives better and becoming information navigators.
“Communication has a vital role in community life, and that is the role of the media in these conditions. If the media does not carry out its role properly, this nation will be damaged. And we can witness this condition where people tend to believe hoaxes on social media. That is why I suggested that Solopos Media Group always be aware of the impact of the information we publish to the public,” he concluded. Humas UNS
Reporter: YCA Sanjaya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti