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Saturday, January 4, 2025, I was invited by the Basri Daham Journalists Institute (BJI), a journalism school formed by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Lhokseumawe, Aceh. This school has produced a number of reliable journalists in each class. Several young journalists in Aceh are alumni of BJI. This proves that BJI is a reliable journalism education institution.

BJI combines the concepts of theory, practice, and internships. Not only studying in class, but students also learn in the field, and finally do an internship after completing all meetings. Usually, after interning at a mass media company, they immediately work at the company because they have the capacity. There is an alumnus who is also my former student at Malikussaleh University, Nurul, who is now an editor at Serambi Indonesia, a leading daily in Aceh.

The two materials that I usually deliver since the first class are about feature writing and literary journalism. I really like these two materials because of my background as a fiction writer. In this batch, feature writing has been handled by other journalists because I am busy with my main job as a member of the Lhokseumawe City Election Supervisory Board.

I opened the class by introducing myself to the students. Then I asked, in the midst of the onslaught of information through social media, is it still important for us to learn about literary journalism. Who wants to work hard to write and read literary journalism papers in the era of artificial intelligence?

Literary journalism is not fiction, nor is it a reportage written in poetic language. So, this is not just a way of writing, but about the form and content of the writing itself. Quoting Linda Charistanty, a writer and journalist who promotes literary journalism, journalistic coverage of this genre must be long, deep, and… felt. One journalism expert, Tom Wolfe, said that literary journalism is a very direct reading, with a reality that feels concrete, and involves the emotions and quality of the writer. Some use the terms narrative journalism and passionate journalism. While Pulitzer mentioned explorative journalism.

Because students have finished with the 5 W + 1 H elements, I will not explain that again. In literary journalism, the element who becomes character, what becomes plot, where becomes setting, when becomes chronology, why becomes motif, and how becomes narrative. I quote Clark in explaining these elements. Not Clark Kent the journalist in the Superman story, but Roy Peter Clark, a writing teacher from the Poynter Institute, Florida, USA.

In my opinion, the opening sentence and the opening paragraph in literary journalism are very important. The opening paragraph is the showcase of a report. Therefore, I quote several examples such as the ones below that were once published in the PANTAU magazine which is no longer published.

1. ONE DAY, Sunday, April 29, 2007. Several two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles were parked in front of house number 5. Several residents gathered in their yard or pressed against the concrete fence. They were discussing the sound of the explosion at 03.05 earlier, which came from the house.
   (Who's Playing Grenades in Aceh? by Ayi Jufridar).

2. "IF you go to West Aceh, don't forget to stop by for a moment at Lamno Jaya. There we can see the Portuguese virgin, the Western virgin with blue eyes.” (Si Mata Biru by Herman RN).

Here are some links to the results of literary journalism coverage:

1. Who's Playing the Grenade in Aceh?: https://pantau.or.id/liputan/2007/05/siapa-main-granat-di-aceh/
2. Money Flows Far Away: http://pantaulama.klienakses.com/?/=d/354
3. Si Mata Biru:
   https://pantau.or.id/liputan/2008/06/si-mata-biru/

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Mengajar Tentang Jurnalisme Sastrawi di Era AI

Sabtu 4 Januari 2025, saya diundang oleh Basri Daham Journalists Institute (BJI), sebuah sekolah jurnalistik yang dibentuk oleh Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI) Lhokseumawe, Aceh. Sekolah ini sudah melahirkan sejumlah wartawan andal di setiap angkatan. Beberapa wartawan muda di Aceh adalah alumni dari BJI. Ini membuktikan BJI adalah lembaga pendidikan jurnalis yang bisa diandalkan.

BJI memadukan konsep teori, praktik, dan magang. Bukan hanya belajar di kelas, tetapi mahasiswanya juga belajar di lapangan, dan terakhir magang setelah menyelesaikan semua pertemuan. Biasanya, setelah magang di perusahaan media massa, mereka langsung bekerja di perusahaan tersebut karena memilki kapasitas. Ada alumni yang juga mantan mahasiswa saya di Universitas Malikussaleh, Nurul, kini sudah menjadi editor di Serambi Indonesia, sebuah harian terkemuka di Aceh.

Dua materi yang biasa saya sampaikan sejak angkatan pertama adalah tentang penulisan feature dan jurnalisme sastrawi. Dua materi ini sangat saya sukai karena latar belakang saya sebagai penulis fiksi. Pada angkatan kali ini, penulisan feature sudah ditangani wartawan lain karena saya sibuk dengan pekerjaan utama sebagai anggota Badan Pengawas Pemilu Kota Lhokseumawe.

Saya membuka kelas dengan perkenalan dengan mahasiswa. kemudian saya bertanya, di tengah gempuran informasi melalui media sosial, apakah masih penting kita belajar tentang jurnalisme sastrawi. Siapa yang mau bekerja keras menulis dan membaca karta jurnalisme sastrawi di era kecerdasan buatan?

Jurnalisme sastra bukan fiksi, bukan pula reportase yang ditulis dengan bahasa puitis. Jadi, ini bukan sekadar cara penulisan, tetapi tentang bentuk dan isi tulisan itu sendiri. Mengutip Linda Charistanty, sastrawan sekaligus jurnalis yang mengusung jurnalisme sastrawi, liputan jurnalistik genre ini harus panjang, dalam, dan… terasa. Salah seorang pakar jurnalistik, Tom Wolfe, menyebutkan jurnalisme sastra sebuah bacaan yang amat langsung, dengan realitas yang terasa konkret, serta melibatkan emosi dan mutu penulisnya. Ada yang menggunakan istirlah narrative journalism dan passionate journalism. Sedangkan Pulitzer menyebutkan explorative journalism.

Karena mahasiswa sudah selesai dengan unsur 5 W + 1 H, saya tidak menjelaskan itu lagi. Dalam jurnalisme sastrawi, unsur who menjai karakter, what menjadi plot atau alur, where menjadi setting, when menjadi kronologi, why menjadi motif, dan how menjadi narasi. Saya mengutip Clark dalam penjelasan unsur tersebut. Bukan Clark Kent sang wartawan dalam kisah Superman, tapi Roy Peter Clark, guru menulis dari Poynter Institute, Florida, AS.

Menurut saya, kalimat pembuka dan paragraf awal dalam jurnalisme sastrawi sangat menentukan. Paragraf awal adalah etalase sebuah laporan. Makanya, saya mengutip beberapa contoh seperti di bawah ini yang pernah dimuat di majalah PANTAU yang kini sudah tidak terbit lagi.

1. HARI itu, Minggu, 29 April 2007. Sejumlah kendaraan roda dua dan empat parkir di depan rumah nomor 5. Sejumlah warga berkumpul di halamannya atau merapat di pagar beton. Mereka tengah memperbincangkan suara ledakan pada pukul 03.05 tadi, yang berasal dari rumah tersebut.
   (Siapa Main Granat di Aceh? karya Ayi Jufridar).

2. “JIKA jalan-jalan ke Aceh Barat, jangan lupa singgah sejenak di Lamno Jaya. Di sana dapat kita lihat dara Portugis, si dara Barat yang biru mata.”
   (Si Mata Biru karya Herman RN).

Berikut ini beberapa tautan tentang hasil liputan jurnalisme sastrawi:

1. Siapa Main Granat di Aceh?: https://pantau.or.id/liputan/2007/05/siapa-main-granat-di-aceh/
2. Uang Mengalir Sampai Jauh: http://pantaulama.klienakses.com/?/=d/354
3. Si Mata Biru:
   https://pantau.or.id/liputan/2008/06/si-mata-biru/

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