Creating the ideal journalism graduate: reconciling views from media employers, lecturers and students in Indonesia

The aim of this study was to identify potential gaps in Indonesian journalism education in relation to opportunities for graduate employability, through the perspectives of prospective employers, journalism lecturers and students. The study was undertaken to examine the specific graduate skills deemed most important by Indonesia’s three leading media outlets. Utilising Donsbach’s five journalistic competence features as well as Cheetham and Chivers’ four components of journalistic competency, the study adopted a constructivist-interpretive approach through an analysis of interview data from the three groups of participants to evaluate journalism courses vis-à-vis media companies’ expectations at the State Polytechnic of Malang. These interviews helped render participants’ perspectives on the factors that these major Indonesian media companies considered crucial when employing new journalists. In the context of vocational higher education in Indonesia, several issues were identified, including high unemployment rate, inconsistent policies, insufficient teaching qualifications, and minimal learning support. Specifically, the findings indicate how the contemporary multiplatform nature of the media industry has challenged journalism educators to question whether they should increase the use of digital media technology in the classroom, or continue traditional pedagogical practices that focus on writing and reporting skills.