In Indonesia, many alternative and independent media have been born, amid a mass of media that is increasingly feared to be declining in quality.
Since its establishment in 2014, the independent online media Floresa has been committed to carrying out public journalism in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) by monitoring development, fighting for democratization, and advocating for the rights of vulnerable citizens, indigenous people, environmental issues, and victims of sexual violence.
Under Herry Mist's leadership, Floresa held firm to a journalistic code of conduct and chose to keep his distance from power by refusing advertising or cooperation from local governments in favor of avoiding censorship and editorial intervention.
Despite the difficult economic situation, they maintain operational continuity through advertising of literacy communities and SMEs, collaboration coverage, fellowships, and public donations.
Herry insists that investment in independent media through grants without intervention is essential to nurturing democracy so that the aspirations of the people can be heard by the government.
However, he feels pessimistic about the current regime which tends to intimidate and label critical voices as foreign stooges, thus making workspaces for independent media insecure even though they are able to survive.
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