Great sailors are not born in calm seas. A saying that could describe Usman Kansong, a Jakarta-born man who is a proud graduate of the Postgraduate Doctoral Program in Communication Science FISIP UI. Usman successfully passed the Doctoral Promotion Session on July 18, 2022 and received a score of 3.78 very satisfying. This Doctoral Promotion Session also made Usman Kansong the 125th doctor produced by the Communication Science Graduate Program of FISIP UI.
Examined by Prof. Dr. Iwan Gardono Sudjatmiko, Prof. Dr. Ibnu Hamad Msi, Prof. Dr. Billy K Sarwono and Dr. Irwansyah S.Sos, M.A., his dissertation was titled “Mediatization of Islamic Populism in DKI 2017 Election (Structuration Approach).” In keeping with the field he has worked in for years, Usman’s dissertation aims to explore how media agencies mediatize Islamic populism to shape social change. In his dissertation, Usman Kansong also mentioned the role of mass media in conveying messages of Islamic populism. “The media publishes Islamic populist messages produced by Islamic populist actors. Political actors adjust to the interests of the media when delivering Islamic populist messages. This is the substance of political mediatization,” Usman explained. For the purposes of his dissertation, Usman examined three media, namely Republika, Metrotvnews.com, and Detik.com. According to him, the media contributes to reinforcing polarization whether it is neutral, in favor of Islamic populism, or anti.
Having worked in various media, Usman worked at Republika Daily for 5 years from 1995. Then in 2000 he worked at Metro TV with the last position of News Current Affairs Manager. In 2009, Usman worked at Media Indonesia Daily with his last position as News Director until 2020. Usman Kansong also teaches at a number of private universities and is listed on the board of the Journalists Union for Diversity (Sejuk) and was awarded a Chavening scholarship in London and Scotland in 2003. Also received a fellowship from the East-West Center, Honolulu, USA. In addition, Usman Kansong was also the Director of Political Communication of the Jokowi-Ma’ruf Amin National Campaign Team (TKN) in the 2019 presidential election.
With his myriad of achievements, Usman Kansong has also participated in “people to people diplomacy” initiated by the Ministry of Communication and Information in Russia and Belarus in 2015 and the United States in 2016. Until August 10, 2021, Usman Kansong was officially appointed as Director General (Dirjen) of Public Information and Communication (IKP) of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kemenkominfo). The inauguration took place at the Media Center of the Ministry of Communication and Information Office by Minister of Communication and Information Johnny G. Plate. For his new mandate, Usman is responsible for conducting accurate and precise public communication as well as protecting the public and providing explanations for hoaxes and infodemics that are spread. (GLS)
