The issue of press professionalism in Indonesia has long been on the minds of journalists who have high hopes that the press in Indonesia will finally reach a level of professionalism. The Press Council of Indonesia is a meeting place for the press community in Indonesia. It has developed and implemented several plans. One of them is to improve the quality of journalists through the implementation of the Journalist Competency, which has been in place since 2010. By the end of 2022, a total of 21,811 journalists had taken the journalist competency test, spread across 24 institutions verified by the Press Council. However, this figure is not encouraging as only 10% of Indonesia's 200,000 journalists have taken the test. For the collection of research data, this study relied on a literature review that identified two factors hindering the improvement of the press industry: the lack of support for press professionalism and the lack of interest of journalists in taking competency tests. The study used the theory of social responsibility of the press to analyse the findings of the study on the barriers to technical professionalism and pragmatic professionalism as experienced by journalists in Indonesia. To achieve press professionalism, the study recommends the need for public participation in improving the quality of the national press.