Analysis of News Framing of Rohingya Refugees in Indonesia Through Islamic Online Media (Republika.id & Islamtoday.id)

Abstract

This research focuses on the coverage of the Rohingya refugee humanitarian crisis in the Islamic online media Republika.id and Islamtoday.id in December 2023. The arrival of Rohingya refugees in Indonesia sparked debate in the media that tended to be emotional and polarizing. The presentation of news that shapes readers' perceptions results from the editorial management applied. Effective editorial management determines the content of news that is informative, complete, accurate, impartial and balanced. In addition, editorial management also affects the main issues in the news, media with particular biases or sentiments develop special policies and strategies in compiling and delivering news. Therefore, this research aims to reveal the news framing patterns and editorial management of Islamic online news in handling the Rohingya refugee issue.This research is divided into two focuses. First, using Robert N. Entman's framing analysis approach, the research aims to explore the framing of the Rohingya Refugee issue in Indonesia on Republika.id and Islamtoday.id media during December 2023 by analyzing the 4 steps of defining the problem, diagnosing the cause of the problem, making moral decisions, and suggesting solutions. Second, the research focuses on exploring the editorial management used by the media through interviews with editors with a qualitative analysis approach that interprets the meaning in the data, with a constructivism paradigm. The results of the study first reveal that Republika.id and Islamtoday.id frame the issue differently. Republika.id highlights the humanitarian side and criminal acts of human trafficking, while IslamToday.id focuses on government response and political handling of humanitarian issues. Second, while both media display comprehensive editorial management functions, differences in human resources significantly influence their editorial management practices. In conclusion, Republika.id frames the news of the Rohingya arrival as a humanitarian and criminal issue that requires widespread support and solutions, driven by traditional newspaper reporting editorial management principles with strict verification. In contrast, IslamToday.id frames the issue as a humanitarian crisis that requires resolution by officials, presenting the news from a single point of view due to limited editorial resources and limited ability to apply their values and views in depth on the Rohingya issue.