“Memahami Pengalaman Individu dalam Mengkonsumsi Berita Kekerasan Berbasis Agama di Indonesia”

Abstract

Recently religion-based violences that occurred in several regions in Indonesia has repeatedly been the subject of mass media headlines. Individuals who interact intensively with the mass media will have an interesting experience in consuming of news religion-based violence. On themselves there are two processes of communication namely information processing and knowledge accumulating that impact on the attitude disposition of understanding about the events of religious intolerance in Indonesia. This study is a descriptive research using a phenomenological approach to explain individual experiences in consuming of news religion-based violence in Indonesia. The author use the Information Integration Theory to understand how communicator, i.e. individuals who have experience of consuming news religion-based violence in Indonesia accumulating and organizing information. In addition, Phenomenology Theory is also used to understand the result of processing of information (knowledge) about the events of religion-based violence that appears within the individual. A total of 18 (eighteen) informants was chosen as a resource in this study. They consist of 9 (nine) informants from the 50'th era and 9 (nine) of the 80'th that represent the 6 (six) religions officially recognized by the government. The findings of this study indicate that the experience of consuming news religion-based violence is not change the attitude of religious people to behave intolerant of other faiths. Cognitive structure that is built by information processes drove them to realize that the reality of religion-based conflict that occurred in some areas and reported by the mass media should be addressed. The implications of this study in the the scope of theoretical level is at information processing from the perspective of Information Integration Theory needs to be expanded by explaining how information can be received by the individual for complementing description of the valence and weight. In a practical level, this study provides an explanation on how patterns of individual interaction with mass media, particularly when consuming of news religion-based violence. Meanwhile, social implications of this study recommends that the media institutions should do more work to educate audiences by presenting a balanced news religion-based violence. Key words: information, experience, news religion-based violence