Bekasi (20/4)-In order to improve communication strategy skills, management of public information services and social media, the Public Relations of the Directorate General of Railways held a Public Information Disclosure Socialization and Public Relations Technical Guidance. The socialization was carried out for 2 days and was attended by 30 representatives of public relations managers within the Directorate General of Railways. Still in this COVID-19 pandemic situation, the activities carried out at the Harris Hotel Bekasi apply strict health protocols. All participants wear masks, keep their distance and wash their hands with water or hand sanitizer. This activity is also carried out with a hybrid system, namely directly at the hotel and Virtually via zoom. Several resource persons also delivered virtual material.

 In his opening remarks, the Secretary of the Directorate General of Railways, Zulmafendi said that the dynamics and development of technology today brings its own challenges to the task of public relations. Public relations are required to be more proactive in communicating the work plans and work achievements of the agency. He also conveyed that various strategic projects of the Directorate General of Railways could be published to the public on an ongoing basis starting from the planning, implementation/construction stage to the operational stage so that the public would be more aware of the performance of the Directorate General of Railways and the outcomes of these various developments.

The socialization this time presented several competent sources in their fields, including: Spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation, Head of the Bureau of Communication and Public Information (BKIP) of the Ministry of Transportation, Commissioner of the Central Information Commission and Senior Journalists. Spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation, Adita Irawati, started the sharing by equating perceptions about the concept of Government Public Relations. Quoting President Joko Widodo's statement, Adita emphasized that in this era of disruption, Government Public Relations plays an important role in disseminating positive messages and the Government's achievements to the public. The consistency of Government Public Relations in communicating this message is intended to build the public's reputation and trust in the Government. "Government Public Relations functions as a determinant of the agenda (agenda setting) of issues in the community, filling the public space with accurate and reliable information," explained Adita. Public Relations also needs to build communication networks, develop and monitor program implementation, to provide and disseminate public information content to the public at large. Adita also reviewed several brand communication tips that need to be mastered by Government Public Relations, such as recognizing the target audience (profile, demographics, communication style and media type); determine the key message (key message) in simple language, easy to understand, in accordance with the target audience; build interesting creative content, especially moving visual content accompanied by interesting and easy-to-receive messages.

The second material was filled in by the Head of the Public Information and Communication Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation, Junaidi, who presented the Public Communication Strategy of the Ministry of Transportation for 2021. Junaidi said that communication activities were aimed at gaining public trust, increasing understanding of the performance of the Ministry of Transportation, encouraging community participation and encouraging behavior change in public. "In managing public communication, several stages are needed, including: Situation Analysis, Communication Objectives, Communication Strategy, Communication Program and Communication Evaluation," explained Junaidi. In its implementation, BKIP carries out various public communication programs such as media publicity (press releases, Press-Backgrounds, Press Conferences), external events and media relations (seminars, Public Dialogue, Media Visits), media and internal events (Rapim, Ratas, Moda Magazine). , big day events and Harhubnas), web management and various social media, production of Public Service Advertisements and creative content. "In 2021, the Ministry of Transportation carries the main narrative, transportation that is increasingly advanced during the economic and social recovery period, which focuses on logistics connectivity and tourism that is safe, secure, comfortable, and healthy for the public using public transportation. We expect full support from each sub-sector to make the narrative a success,” he explained.

This socialization was also accompanied by a technical guidance session on the writing of press releases guided by a senior journalist, Clara Wresti. Clara said that the technique of writing press releases is one of the skills that must be mastered by Government Public Relations. The content of press releases must be interesting, systematic and easy to understand, especially issues that are relevant to the public interest. The news value of a press release includes significance (how far and how important the message is to the public), magnitude (how much, big and fast), proximity (elements of proximity of the news to the public), prominence and timeliness (the nature of news novelty). After the presentation of the material, the session continued with the practice of writing press releases which was attended by the participants of the technical guidance. The presenter then evaluates the press release script of the technical guidance participants. Participants with the best technical guidance texts receive appreciation in the form of prizes that have been prepared by the committee.

The last session on the second day of the socialization activity was filled with speakers from the Central Information Commission (KIP) who discussed Public Information Disclosure. Tya Tirta, KIP resource person, emphasized that in accordance with Article 7 of the Law on Public Information Disclosure, a Public Agency is required to provide public information that is accurate, true and not misleading. The management of this public information is carried out by the Information Management and Documentation Officer (PPID) in each work unit. Tya further describes the types of information in the UU KIP, including: information that must be provided and announced periodically, information that must be announced immediately, information that is excluded and information that must be available at all times. In closing, Tya appealed to PPID within the Directorate General of Railways to update the Public Information List and continue to develop information systems in improving the quality of information delivery services to the public. (spn/wid)