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Save media! 
Benni Setiawan
Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Email: bennisetiawan@uny.ac.id

Print mass media face a big problem. One of them is the decline in 
subscribers, and the print mass media also loses advertisers. The migration of 
readers from print to online is not only during a pandemic but has occurred 
since the last few decades. However, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the print 
media became more difficult. The media reduces production costs by laying off 
employees. The press also reduced the number of pages to stay afloat in difficult 
times.

Print media also have to deal with the advertising market system getting 
away from it. Advertisers trust influencers more than mainstream mass media. 
Influencers with large numbers of followers beat the mass media advertising 
market. Products/services rely more on their advertisements to influencers to 
quickly and precisely target audiences.

In addition, the routine of media work during the pandemic also causes 
saturation. This limitation of space means journalists can only cover from 
home. This information mining model can reduce the value of news as a guide 
for the community.

The routine of media work which tends to be monotonous, is often faced 
with the changing reality of society. People prefer to get fast news rather than in-
depth. The public can also access reports without waiting for tomorrow because 
of the ease of information facilities.

Print media is increasingly challenging to develop amid declining public 
purchasing power for media. Not many people are willing to set aside some of 
their funds to “buy” quality information. One of the sources of the life of the 
print media is the selling price of newspaper products.

Informasi-ISSN (p) 0126-0650; ISSN (e) 2502-3837
Vol. 51, No. 2 (2021), pp. i-ii doi: http://doi.org/10.21831/informasi.v51i2.46791. i-ii



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Informasi, Vol. 51. No. 2. (2021)

People need to set aside funds to buy media products for media life. Buying 
media is a fundamental step to saving media from bankruptcy. Encouraging the 
purchase value of this media also needs to get a response from the media by 
presenting better, engaging, and creative news. Of course, all that needs to pay 
attention to ethics and journalistic rules.

When people turn on the media, then as a source of information, the 
press continues to live in the life of nationhood and civility. People’s purchasing 
power is a healthy choice during consumption flows. Buy media at Rp. 60,000-
Rp. 100,000 per month is certainly cheaper than the consumption of cigarettes, 
fast food, or the cost of hanging out at a coffee shop. With that critical and 
constructive life is maintained, media workers can still live in the onslaught of 
change.

In addition, the public needs to stop the distribution of the paper that 
has been purchased. Of course, it’s easy to find in various WhatsApp groups 
every morning someone shares media paper. His intentions may be good but 
spreading the report can reduce people’s enthusiasm to buy media. It is enough 
that the subscription is enjoyed by the customer and perhaps the immediate 
family.

In the end, the print mass media, in particular, need to be saved with 
genuine attention and steps from the public. Keeping the press from extinction 
is a form of moral responsibility to revive a reliable source of information. More 
than that, saving the media means maintaining sanity and civility.