PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - Acting Governor of West Java Bey Machmudin appreciated the Santri Journalist program initiated by the West Java Indonesian Television Journalist Association (IJTI).

Santri Journalists held by IJTI in 2024 is the third in a series with the theme 'The Sparkle of Ramadan with TV Journalists,' held at the Sukamiskin Bandung Islamic Boarding School.

According to Bey, in the era of information technology, many young people, including students, have multimedia talents. Starting from photography, videography, to writing works.

So the talents of the younger generation need to be directed so that there is maturity in disseminating information. Especially in this fast-paced era, various information flows rapidly, including hoax news which you must continue to be wary of.

"I welcome this Santri Journalist program because there are many young people, in this case santri, who have the talent to write, use photo and video cameras," said Bey Machmudin at the Sukamiskin Islamic Boarding School, Bandung, Friday (22/3/2024).

"With this (Student Journalist) (students) will be more directed and hopefully they will get good and useful knowledge and can put it into practice in society," he added.

Moreover, as students, it is hoped that by being equipped with journalistic knowledge, the young generation who focuses on studying Islam will be able to uphold the values of truth when producing journalistic works or information content on social media.

"So the later the shooting will be better, the writing will be better," he said.

Bey encouraged West Java IJTI to widen its steps. This means that similar programs can also target pupils and students to encourage community literacy.

"The world of journalism is very developed, now media not only competes with other media but also competes with social media," he said.

So, the media must uphold the truth. Apart from that, the media needs to prioritize speed and accuracy in reporting an incident.

In the Santri Journalist program there is a concept of knowledge exchange, where journalists can also absorb religious knowledge from Islamic boarding schools.

"Also for journalists, those of you who have joined an Islamic boarding school will be more obedient to journalistic norms, adhere to journalistic principles, so that these media can become a benchmark for society in presenting correct news," concluded Bey.

Chairman of the West Java IJTI Iqwan Sabba Romli, the committee chose the Sukamiskin Bandung Islamic Boarding School as the venue for the event because it is a classic Islamic boarding school which was founded in 1881.

"Santri journalists, we reflect on what we hope, Islamic boarding schools must be the epicenter of good information in the current era of information disruption," said Iqwan.

"With the hope that students will gain useful knowledge, starting from taking pictures, students must excel in sending information to the public. Convey what needs to be conveyed to the public," he added.

Leader of the Sukamiskin Bandung Islamic Boarding School, KH. Abdul Aziz, advised journalists to be guided by the morals of the Prophet Muhammad in producing news.

"On behalf of the extended family of the Sukamiskin Islamic Boarding School, I would like to thank all the Heads of Television Bureau/Media Editorial Chiefs in West Java for their arrival at the Islamic Boarding School," said KH. Abdul Aziz.