Indonesia

Mar 292013

Knight Fellow Wins Award for Pioneering News Network in Indonesia

For his work as a Knight International Journalism Fellow, Harry Surjadi has won the 2013 Communications for Social Change Award. He developed a groundbreaking news channel in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, using mobile and FrontlineSMS texting. He also trained hundreds of indigenous citizens to be reporters for this new platform.

May 302012

Chief of News in Rural Indonesia Finds Citizen Journalism Gives Villagers a Voice

Growing up in a village in rural Indonesia, a young boy by the name of Alim dreamed of one day owning his own TV. He never imagined he'd be the head of a broadcast news operation that reports on indigenous issues and serves as a voice for people who have never really had one before.

Today, Alim is chief of news at Ruai TV.

May 72012

Citizen Journalism Advances Democratic Citizenship in Rural Indonesia

On 25 November 2011, Adrianus Akid, an indigenous farmer in a rural Indonesian village, sent a text about a damaged bridge to RuaiSMS. RuaiSMS is a mobile news service that turns cell phones into a new communication channel for indigenous people in West Kalimantan, including Sungai Enau, about 12 miles from Pontianak, the capital city of Indonesia’s West Kalimantan Province.

Apr 112012

Frontline SMS: How Lives Are Changing in Rural Indonesia, 160 Characters at a Time

When Knight International Journalism Fellow Harry Surjadi launched his mobile news network in rural Indonesia, it relied on Frontline SMS technology to work -- allowing citizens to text news reports that are sent to journalists, activists and others, and are aired on Ruai TV.

The project has been so successful -- empowering indigenous people to make their voices heard -- that Frontline SMS is profiling the project as an example of how journalists can use the software as an innovative

Feb 282012

Text-and-Mobile News Network Opens Coverage of Rural Indonesia

In a rural corner of Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, indigenous people can now send out the important news in their communities, thanks to a groundbreaking cell phone-based network officially launched this month by Knight International Journalism Fellow Harry Surjadi.

The new service – which opens up a part of the country previously cut off from news coverage – had its public debut at a press conference on February 15 in the provincial capital of Pontianak.