MEDIA RELATIONS STRATEGIES OF WEST JAVA DISKOMINFO IN MAINTAINING RELATIONSHIPS WITH MASS MEDIA AMID COMMUNICATION BUDGET CONSTRAINTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36526/sosioedukasi.v15i4.9278Keywords:
media relations; West Java Diskominfo; budget constraints; government communication; adaptive communication strategyAbstract
This study examines how the West Java Communication and Information Office (Diskominfo) adapted its media relations strategies to sustain relationships with mass media after the 2025 budget efficiency policy cut its media budget by approximately 94 percent. Using a qualitative single case study design, data were collected through in-depth interviews with three key informants at Diskominfo West Java and analysed using Miles and Huberman's interactive model, with source triangulation and member checking for validity. Nine adaptive strategies were identified and mapped onto Iriantara's three media relations processes: managing relations, through re-engineering paid partnerships, transparent communication with editorial leaders, and open access to spokespersons; developing strategy, through maximising owned and earned media, strict internal KPIs, and WhatsApp-based coordination; and developing networks, through the Editor-in-Chief Forum, IKP Talks, engagement with journalists' professional organisations, and the 'Diskominfo Babarengan' motto. Read against Grunig and Hunt's model typology, these strategies suggest that, under budget pressure, Diskominfo's practices moved in a direction more consistent with the Two-way Symmetric ideal than during periods of budgetary abundance; this reading is offered cautiously, as an interpretation of the case rather than a generalisable causal claim. The study contributes to the still-limited literature on government public relations under conditions of fiscal constraint, and suggests that media relationships anchored in trust and shared values may be more resilient to budget fluctuations than those built primarily on financial transactions.
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