Image Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang di Media Podcast INI UMM pada Platform Spotify (Studi Resepsi pada Siswa di 3 Sekolah Menengah Atas Kota Malang)

The INI UMM Podcast is one of the information sources about the campus that is updated by Communication Science students themselves. Initially, the INI UMM studio was provided for Communication Science students of the 2021 cohort to fulfill their Public Speaking assignments. Data from the 2024 Student Admission (PMB) also shows the three top
schools whose students most frequently apply to Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, namely SMK Telkom Malang, SMA Laboratorium UM Malang, and SMA Negeri 9 Malang City. This study aims to determine how the image of Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) is perceived by high school students through the INI UMM podcast, which is broadcast on the
Spotify platform.

This research employs a qualitative approach with a reception study method, focusing on how audiences receive, interpret, and give meaning to the messages delivered in the podcast. The theory used in this research is Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory, which categorizes audience interpretations into three positions: dominant-hegemonic, negotiated, and oppositional. The research subjects are students from three different high schools in Malang City, selected purposively. The results show that the INI UMM podcast is able to build the image of Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang as a modern, religious, and progressive campus. The majority of informants fall into the dominant-hegemonic position, where they appreciate the informative content, the relaxed yet educational delivery style, and the university’s success in demonstrating a strong campus identity.