Press Releases

Internews Creates Text Messaging Service for Indonesian Journalists After Earthquake

Photo: Wayne Sharpe/Internews The SMS messages originated from the newsroom of AM station Punokawan, whose billboard is shown here.

(October 19, 2006) In the aftermath of the devastating May 27 earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java, which killed over 5,000 and left 1.6 million homeless, mobile phones quickly became mobile news services for journalists covering the recovery efforts. Internews worked with more than 180 Indonesian journalists to establish a quick, low-cost text messaging service that enabled local radio stations to report on humanitarian relief.

Reports on emergency services such as vaccinations, or health warnings such as a tetanus outbreak, also enabled Indonesian journalists to play a rapid-response role by helping to get vital information to the quake-affected populations.

“The rip-and-read aspect was useful,” said Internews Program Coordinator Sonny Inbaraj. “It was short, simple information that local journalists could either read directly on the air in their radio stations or investigate further…. and they knew they had something that was reliable to report.”

Chris Walker, an expert in SMS (short message service) technology from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University, worked with Jakarta- and Yogyakarta-based teams to design the emergency message distribution system with mobile phones. The teams were able to capitalize on Java’s very high mobile phone penetration and the fact that telecom providers ensured that services were backed up quickly.

The emergency network the telecom providers  built allowed Internews' text messaging service to send news and information to a network of journalists and media workers throughout the earthquake zone. Internews also quickly trained local teams to produce urgent messages from humanitarian organizations.

Internews' Java Earthquake Emergency Media Project allowed for near-instantaneous transmission of news about new earthquakes in the Yogyakarta region to media outlets throughout the region.

The project also stimulated an exchange of information with an emergency AM radio station and the Yogyakarta community radio network. Once media outlets realized there was an information “hub” to which to report information, they sent in their news so it could be reported out again to a wider community.

The outgoing messages included warnings of aftershocks as well as reports on protests by communities that had not received any government aid after the disaster. Journalists participating in the information service sent back SMS updates on reconstruction in their areas.

The magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Yogyakarta, on the populous Indonesian island of Java, about 400 kilometers east of Jakarta, early in the morning on May 27.

The Java Earthquake Emergency Media Project was conducted by Internews and media partners Indonesian Press and Broadcast Society (MPPI), Community Radio Network Yogyakarta (JRKY), and Children of the Nation Vision (VAB). Funding came from grants to Internews from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Office of US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Wayne Sharpe, Internews Indonesia Country Director

Internews Indonesia