ANTARA Plans Safety Rules for Journalists Covering Disasters
Indonesia’s ANTARA news agency says it is preparing field-safety rules for staff journalists, contract workers and freelance contributors, following the disappearance of five journalists and three boat crew members while covering Anak Krakatau’s September 2026 eruption.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A plan by state news agency ANTARA to extend safety protections to all journalists it uses comes as the dangers of covering disasters in the Pacific Ring of Fire are underscored by the disappearance of five journalists and three boat crew members during Anak Krakatau’s September 2026 eruption.
ANTARA Commercial and Business Development Director Virgandhi Prayudantoro announced the effort at the opening of “On Eternal Assignment,” a photo exhibition at the ANTARA Heritage Center in Central Jakarta. Organized with the Indonesian Photojournalists Association (PFI), the exhibition honors journalists who have gone missing or died while reporting.
Safety rules for staff and freelance reporters
Virgandhi said ANTARA is preparing workplace safety rules for permanent employees, fixed-term contract workers and stringers, or freelance contributors who report from the field, as well as other journalists working for the agency. He said ANTARA was seeking appropriate standards and solutions to protect reporters on assignment.
“Going forward, we must do better with our work and protect our journalists as they carry out journalistic activities,” Virgandhi said on Tuesday.
The planned rules would cover journalists regardless of employment status, a distinction that matters in field reporting, where freelance contributors can face the same hazards as full-time staff. The agency did not provide details about the rules or say when they would be introduced.
Reporting from the scene can carry serious risks
Dwi Pambudo, who leads the Indonesian Photojournalists Association’s central board for 2025-2028, said the exhibition opened on Indonesia’s Heroes Day and drew attention to the families who send journalists into dangerous assignments.
Photojournalists often need to be physically present to document events, Dwi said, including fires and natural disasters. That proximity can put them in harm’s way as they work to capture images from unfolding events.
“A photojournalist cannot work from a safe distance. They have to be physically present when fire breaks out and when natural disasters devastate an area; they have to be in the field to capture a moment,” Dwi said.
The exhibition recalls the five journalists and three boat crew members who disappeared while covering Anak Krakatau’s eruption in September 2026. Virgandhi thanked the association for organizing the exhibition and said ANTARA would continue working to establish the right safety standards for its journalists.
