Media Framing of Indonesia's Capital Relocation: Political Legitimacy, Cultural Symbolism, and National Identity in Digital News Coverage

Abstract

The relocation of Indonesia’s capital from Jakarta to Nusantara in East Kalimantan is not merely an administrative and infrastructural policy, but also a symbolic act of political communication. Online news media play a central role in translating this state-led project into public narratives that shape perceptions of legitimacy, cultural meaning, and national identity. This study examines how Indonesian online news media frame the capital relocation through three dimensions: political legitimacy, cultural symbolism, and national identity. Using a qualitative design, the study applies Pan and Kosicki’s framing analysis model, which examines news discourse through syntactic, script, thematic, and rhetorical structures. The data consist of five online news articles published by DetikNews and DetikJatim concerning symbolic events in the early phase of the Nusantara project, particularly the ritual of uniting soil and water from provinces across Indonesia in the Kendi Nusantara. The findings reveal three dominant frames. First, the political legitimacy frame emphasizes presidential leadership, governors’ participation, and coordinated state authority. Second, the cultural symbolism frame highlights ritual objects, cultural metaphors, and historical references such as Tanah Air, Kendi Nusantara, and Majapahit heritage. Third, the national identity frame presents the relocation as a collective national project that symbolically integrates diverse regions into a shared political imagination. These frames show how online news media transform a complex policy issue into a culturally resonant narrative of authority, unity, and national future-making. The study contributes to political communication and framing research by demonstrating how digital journalism legitimizes large-scale state projects through symbolic storytelling.