SEMARANG, INDONESIA – To enhance digital literacy in schools, a team of lecturers from the Department of Communication Science, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) at Universitas Diponegoro (Undip) conducted a community outreach program at SMA Negeri 1 Semarang on Monday (18/05/2026).
The workshop, held in the school’s Small Auditorium, was themed “Optimizing School Media Team Competence through Feature Writing Training at SMA Negeri 1 Semarang”.
A Shield Against Hoaxes
The initiative received a warm welcome from the school administration. Dra. Prity Uning Wiyarti, M.Pd., Vice Principal of Public Relations at SMA Negeri 1 Semarang, emphasized that the training is highly relevant for today’s youth, who are constantly attached to gadgets yet highly vulnerable to misinformation.
“For us, this is a golden opportunity for students to delve deeper into journalism. Through this activity, they learn the importance of media literacy to safeguard themselves against hoaxes,” Prity stated during her opening remarks.
Transforming Passive Audiences into Active Creators
The overwhelming flood of information in the digital world often leaves teenagers trapped as passive consumers. This phenomenon prompted the FISIP Undip communication academics to take action.
Dr. Sunarto, Head of the Media, Journalism, and Gender Communication Expertise Group at FISIP Undip, explained that one of the program’s primary missions is to shift how students interact with the media.
“The goal of this outreach is driven by concerns that the younger generation only uses media as a passive audience,” Sunarto explained. “We want to encourage them to actively produce healthy, constructive information.”
Boosting the Quality of Journalism Extracurriculars
Feature writing was specifically chosen because its narrative style is more flexible, humanistic, and in-depth compared to conventional straight news. This makes it an ideal format for school bulletin boards, school magazines, and the digital platforms of SMA Negeri 1 Semarang.
The Head of the Community Outreach Team, Drs. Joyo Nur Suryanto Gono, M.S., expressed hope that the training outcomes could be immediately applied by students in managing their school media.
“This feature writing training aims to benefit students in the journalism extracurricular program, enhancing their skills in news reporting and writing,” Joyo said.
Through this intensive workshop, students were taught not only the fundamental theories of journalism but also engaged in hands-on practice to find compelling story angles, ultimately bringing educational school media to life.
Writer: Citra Safira