Tri Febriana E.S. Wijaya: Arguing the case for nature
In Indonesia, Tri Febriana E.S. Wijaya, 41, is a producer for national TV. She produces educational reports using a variety of tools to inform the public about the dramatic consequences of deforestation, always with a smile.
Tri Febriana E.S. has strong beliefs that were instilled in her from childhood. I wanted to be a journalist even then! Curious to see how he communicated with animals, I loved accompanying my father who worked as a vet. I also watched reports on TV and liked writing stories about my feelings, recalls Indonesian journalist Tri Febriana E.S. Wijaya, 41.
Her elder sister Elita Rahmarestia confirms: When she was young, Tri enjoyed writing about how she felt about things and reading books. But when she graduated from law school, we in the family thought she would go into the legal field.
Casting aside any thought of arguing cases in court, Tri returned to her first love and joined LPP TVRI, the national television channel, in 2007. When I was at university my parents were pushing me to become a lawyer, but they finally agreed that I should pursue my dream of working as a journalist instead.
She started out as a reporter, producer, team leader and editor-in-chief of the web section before becoming a producer again. Not specifically on the environment, but we also deal with these subjects, she points out.
Make my work more visual and attractive
Her colleague Fitria Herbiyanti, who started working in their media outlet at the same time as she did, has watched her progress with admiration: Tri is a talented, meticulous, hard-working journalist. She presents information from all angles so that viewers can get a broader perspective. She is fully committed to the Terra Asia project and even raises awareness of environmental issues among her friends.
It hasn't gone to her head, and much less taken away her customary smile.
I remember a live report from Tri. I was the presenter. We both had a hard time holding back our laughter, but the report went smoothly right to the end! Tri has filled her role as journalist perfectly, recalls Fitria.
Tri Febriana E.S. Wijaya aims to provide useful information in an educational way: In Indonesia, the tragic floods have made us all realise how important environmental issues are. For example, as journalists, we need to provide reliable information on deforestation and its consequences. In this mission, she appreciates the tools received from CFI's Terra Asia programme: We have been trained in how to use artificial intelligence and geolocation to check the facts. I apply these innovations to my work to make it more visual and attractive with figures and graphs.
New knowledge that Tri is happy to share with her colleagues. It's enough to give her ideas for a new argument for nature: I'm talking to my boss, who's thinking about creating a specialist environmental desk in our general-interest media outlet. Pleas, yes. Pleadings, definitely not!
Tri Febriana E.S. Wijaya ends our interview with a final spontaneous laugh when asked if she regrets not becoming a lawyer: I'm proud to be a journalist! I'll probably remain one until the day I die!
Interview conducted by Emmanuel de Solère Stintzy (Journalistes Médiateurs)