Platformizing Local Journalism: Content Commodification, Audience Extraction, and Editorial Authority in Indonesia

As local news organizations become increasingly dependent on digital platforms, the production and circulation of local news are being reorganized around visibility, audience metrics, and monetization. This article draws on a qualitative multiple case study of Suara Merdeka and Tribun Jateng, two news organizations serving Central Java, Indonesia. Data were collected through 20 semi-structured interviews and observations of print, website, social media, and video outputs. The findings show contrasting organizational responses to platform pressures. Suara Merdeka relies on a website-centred strategy supported by territorial reporting networks, while Tribun Jateng employs a more integrated, audiovisual, and continuously updated production system. In both organizations, local news is repackaged across channels to extend its visibility and monetization, while audience attention, data, community relationships, and participation are converted into economic value. However, platform metrics do not fully displace editorial judgement. Both newsrooms continue to invest in field reporting, verification, and locally specific coverage, including stories with limited commercial appeal. Platformization, therefore, changes how local news is produced and valued without eliminating its public orientation. Editorial authority remains, although its exercise depends on the organizational resources needed to sustain independent local reporting.