SEMARANG – The Department of Communication Science, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Diponegoro University, through the Media Communication, Journalism, and Gender Expertise Group (KBK KMJG), held a Community Service activity titled “Improving Reporting Skills for the School Media Team at SMA Negeri 1 Semarang” on Monday (18/5/2026). This activity served as a learning space for students of the school media team to gain a closer understanding of journalistic practices and the world of Communication Science.
The service team consisted of Dr. Adi Nugroho, M.Si., Dr. Drs. Sunarto, M.Si., and Agne Yasa, S.I.Kom., M.A. Through this activity, participants received training on the basic principles of journalism, coverage techniques, news writing, and editing processes.
The activity opened with a speech from the Head of the Media Communication, Journalism, and Gender Expertise Group, Dr. Drs. Sunarto, M.Si. In his remarks, he expressed appreciation to the school for providing the opportunity and support for the implementation of this community service activity.
“This activity is part of the lecturers’ community service, specifically to provide experience and knowledge to students who have an interest in the fields of journalism and Communication Science,” he said.
Dr. Drs. Sunarto, M.Si. also expressed hope that this activity would serve as a platform for students to understand good, critical, and responsible journalistic practices in today’s digital media era.
Appreciation was also conveyed by the Deputy Principal for Public Relations of SMA Negeri 1 Semarang, Dra. Prity Uning Wiyarti, M.Pd. According to her, this training provides tangible benefits for developing the school media team’s abilities.
“This activity is very beneficial because it provides new insights and direct experience for students in understanding the journalistic process and reporting,” she stated.
During the material session, participants were invited to understand the basic principles of journalism delivered by Dr. Drs. Sunarto, M.Si. He explained that journalism carries a great responsibility towards truth and the public interest. In his presentation, he emphasized the importance of information verification, journalist independence, and the application of the journalistic code of ethics in every news report.
“Journalism must start from facts and be carried out through a check-and-recheck process so that the information conveyed remains accurate and trustworthy,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Agne Yasa, S.I.Kom., M.A. delivered material on coverage preparation and news reporting. He explained that a news piece should not only be engaging but also have a clear focus, be fact-based, and be compiled with attention to journalistic ethics.
In his material, he outlined the coverage steps, from initial research, field observation, interviewing, to compiling the coverage results into a systematic written piece. Participants were also given various interviewing tips, such as the importance of preparing open-ended questions and actively listening to sources.
“Do not just stick to your list of questions. Listen to the source’s answers and develop follow-up questions from those answers,” he explained to the participants.
In addition to discussing news writing, participants were also introduced to photo and video techniques for multimedia coverage needs. They were encouraged to understand the importance of varied shot compositions to make documentation more engaging and informative.
Furthermore, Dr. Adi Nugroho, M.Si. delivered material on editing or editing journalistic manuscripts. In his presentation, he explained that the editing process plays a crucial role in ensuring that the message in a news piece can be conveyed effectively, clearly, and easily understood by readers.
“Editing is not just about correcting writing errors, but also ensuring that the information conveyed remains accurate, relevant, and in accordance with journalistic ethics,” said Adi Nugroho.
He also explained that an editor needs to pay attention to various aspects, ranging from news value, information relevance, fact completeness, to potential ethical and legal violations in a manuscript. According to him, editing skills are an important part of maintaining the quality of journalistic products before they are published to the public.
The activity was interactive, with discussions and question-and-answer sessions enthusiastically followed by the participants. Many students shared their experiences in managing school media and asked various questions related to coverage techniques and news writing.
Through this community service activity, the Department of Communication Science at FISIP Undip hopes that students of SMA Negeri 1 Semarang will become more confident in developing their journalistic skills and be able to produce informative, creative, and responsible school media works.
(Agne Yasa)