Bad news is good news.

We’re probably familiar with this phrase. Bad news is good news, because bad news sells. But what about coverage of religious issues—does the same phrase apply there as well?

In diverse societies such as those in Indonesia and Asia in general, covering religious issues and conflicts presents a unique challenge. This was highlighted by media policymakers in Indonesia during the “Reporting Religion in Asia” Conference at Multimedia Nusantara University on October 17–19, 2017, organized by the International Association of Religion Journalists ( IARJ) in collaboration with the Journalists’ Union for Diversity (SEJUK), with partial support from the Tifa Foundation.

During a session discussing media policies regarding the coverage of religious issues, media editors in Indonesia described the dilemmas they face as business entities while remaining committed to journalistic principles.

M. Taufiqurrahman of the Jakarta Post noted that, as the only foreign-language newspaper, there is pressure to ensure that no false impression of Indonesia is created. “Since our audience consists mostly of foreigners, we don’t want any wrong impressions to be formed; therefore, our reporting must be fair and balanced, even though certain ideologies and perspectives influence our coverage,” he said.

In its coverage of religious issues, the Jakarta Post has traditionally emphasized political aspects over religious ones. In fact, religious issues—as part of our cultural identity that have long been neglected—need to be given greater prominence. “Sometimes we forget that Islam (and other religions) is a cultural force worth fighting for. Sometimes we take it for granted.”

The story is different for Irfan Junaidi, editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Republika, which targets the Muslim community in Indonesia. Having spent 20 years with Republika, Irfan recounts the newspaper’s journey in finding its identity and place within Indonesian society.

Until now, Republika has been better known as an Islamic daily newspaper. However, Irfan emphasized that diversity within the editorial team and in the news coverage is always maintained. “We are still evolving and do not claim to have reached the ideal state. Although our target audience is Muslim readers, not all members of the editorial team are Muslim. We cater to the entire spectrum,” said Irfan.

Regarding news coverage, Irfan stated that Republika’s policy places greater emphasis on Islam as a value. This is evident in the perspectives reflected in its reporting.

“The focus isn’t on ritualistic Islam, but on Islam as a set of values for daily life. We explore how Islam views corruption and the environment. So, it’s not just about prayer and charity, but more about Islam as a way of looking at the world,” added Irfan.

Republika also received an award for its coverage of the 2015 forest fires. “We also highlighted the hadith prohibiting urination in flowing water and linked it to how Islam commands us to protect the environment.”

Irfan explained that Republika also addresses the issue of corruption and has previously featured a special banner on the fight against corruption. “There is a hadith stating that the Prophet himself would have cut off Aisha’s hand if she were caught stealing. This shows that Islam prohibits theft, let alone corruption, which is even more widespread,” said Irfan.

In addition to the Jakarta Post and Republika, representatives from Tempo, Detik, and Rappler Indonesia also participated as panelists.

Religion as a market commodity

Although other perspectives could be highlighted when covering religious issues, it cannot be denied that religious issues in the media are covered in the context of conflict because that is what sells. This was stated by veteran journalist Uni Lubis, representing Rappler Indonesia.

“Take Islam, for example. It gets a lot of coverage because it has a strong news angle —the majority of Indonesia’s population is Muslim. As for other religions, they get coverage when there’s a conflict (because it’s newsworthy). For instance, Christianity gets coverage during conflicts, and Sunda Wiwitan gets coverage during disputes over customary land. There has to be a news angle ,” said Uni.

Hermien Kleden, Editor-in-Chief of Tempo English, echoed this sentiment. After all, the media must operate within the framework of news value and the appropriate scale of coverage, including when it comes to religious issues. Nevertheless, she added, there is still room for coverage in the form of human interest and soft news. “But there must be a news angle, a connection to the news peg. Tempo continues to support and weave issues of pluralism and interfaith relations into the news peg,” Hermien explained.

So what do religious groups think about media coverage of religious issues? Father Haryanto, representing the Catholic community, stated during one of the sessions that there are still many misunderstandings in media coverage when presenting information about certain religious communities. “If there’s no news about the Catholic Church, we’re happy because the news that does come out is usually negative. Even if there is good news, it’s often not reported accurately,” said Father Haryanto.

He added that news reports don’t need to be in-depth, but it’s important that they be presented accurately. To that end, journalists need to be critical and actively seek out sources of information. Previously, the community where he works frequently held press conferences on interfaith issues. But now, they prefer to distribute press releases. “We stopped holding press conferences because what we said wasn’t being asked about anymore, and the questions that came up were actually irrelevant. We were also often approached by unprofessional journalists. So we decided to just issue press releases,” he said.

Understanding and engagement with religious issues also pose a challenge for the media. Many journalists covering religious issues do not understand what to investigate or where to find sources of information. The media also often overlooks context, resulting in perspectives that merely follow the prevailing narrative.

This was confirmed by Yendra Budian, spokesperson for the Indonesian Ahmadiyya Community. “This lack of understanding [of the issue] has led to inaccurate reporting. The media needs to adopt a perspective befitting its role as a key influencer of public opinion, and consider how to build an Indonesia that upholds the belief in God and social justice. News coverage should not focus solely on religion, but should also take into account the values of social justice,” said Yendra.

Media Capacity and Professionalism

According to Yendra, the competence and professionalism of journalists also need to be taken into account. Just because a story is newsworthy doesn’t mean it shouldn’t provide balanced coverage for parties with opposing viewpoints.

“The media is actually actively involved in giving a platform to intolerant groups. Instead, the media should feature more figures like Buya Syafii and NU leaders to foster peaceful journalism. We understand that the media needs news, so we’re also learning to provide unique stories for the media. For example, the story of a nun and a Muslim woman crossing the street together is proof that good news can indeed be good news,” added Yendra.

That is why the Tifa Foundation supports SEJUK, which continues to promote the principles of peace journalism and diversity among journalists in Indonesia. Given how easily information spreads today, the media has a role to play in setting the record straight and demonstrating sensitivity in assessing situations, rather than exacerbating conflicts.

This echoes the views expressed by Dewi Kanti, a representative of a group of adherents to ancestral beliefs. “In the case of the seizure of customary land, for example, it is not a religious issue. Rather, there are economic and political interests at play. Journalists should be sensitive to local political interests, rather than focusing solely on the issue of a few square meters of land,” said Dewi.

Addressing the issue of media capacity and role, all panelists agreed that there is still much work to be done. In addition to building capacity and upholding journalistic ethics, training journalists in peaceful perspectives on conflict coverage is essential. This effort could begin with the development of a Diversity Journalism Guide, which would serve as a useful reference for journalists in Indonesia.