Press under pressure: New study tackles threat to journalism

Monash Business School PhD candidate Ika Krismantari.

5 June 2026

For 32 years under a dictatorship, Indonesian media had little power to scrutinise the government or hold institutions accountable.

When democracy arrived in the late 1990s, a free press became central to public oversight.

However, Monash Business School PhD candidate Ika Krismantari warns that today, those freedoms are once again under threat.

Newsrooms across the country – and around the globe – are grappling with layoffs, funding volatility, and the disruptive influence of digital platforms.

In Indonesia, those financial pressures are unfolding alongside growing concern within the media sector about a potential return to authoritarianism under President Prabowo Subianto.

Ms Krismantari said media organisations are operating in an increasingly challenging environment, facing severe economic strain and mounting political constraints.

“Indonesia has lived through what happens when the press is silenced,” Ms Krismantari said.

“If they can’t sustain themselves, if they can’t keep doing independent reporting, then our democracy becomes vulnerable. We can’t afford to let history repeat itself.”

A journalist for more than two decades, she is using her investigative talents to test whether independent digital news organisations can remain viable in the current economic climate.

Ms Krismantari on 4 June 2026 won the Faculty of Business and Economics 2025 Outstanding First Year PhD Student Award for addressing this vital research question.

'A very challenging media environment'

Ms Krismantari’s study examines a structural tension familiar across media markets: small teams, limited resources, and competing expectations from multiple stakeholders.

“Balancing all of that while still maintaining editorial independence and producing strong journalism is not easy,” she said.

“My research asks: how do they manage these relationships, and how can value be created in ways that support their sustainability?”

To answer that question, the project unfolds in three stages.

“I start with document analysis, looking closely at each news organisation’s background: how they operate, what their business looks like so far, and the kinds of partnerships they rely on to keep things running,” she said.

From there, the work moves into interviews – first with the news outlets themselves, and then with their stakeholders.

To date, she has conducted 35 interviews across nine different organisations.

“Each conversation adds another layer to understanding how these small outlets survive, adapt, and collaborate in a very challenging media environment,” she said.

Her supervisor, Professor Daniel Prajogo, said the project’s scope and grounding give it practical relevance.

“Krismantari’s research, using an interdisciplinary approach that draws from journalism and management studies, will offer valuable insights for the management of small news organisations and inform government policy aimed at supporting their sustainability,” he said.

From insight to impact

Ms Krismantari plans to turn the findings into a recommendation paper for industry and policymakers.

“Throughout my interviews, I’ve met people who are genuinely eager to hear what comes out of this work,” she said.

“They recognise how crucial these insights are for the future of journalism and, ultimately, for the health of democracy in Indonesia.”

She hopes her research will help to strengthen newsroom resilience and inform policy support for independent media.

“I definitely want this research to feed back into the industry,” she said.

“So the ultimate goal, for me, is to create something practical and useful that can help news organisations navigate the challenges they’re facing.”

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