Director, looking back on the nearly century journey of Lao Dong Newspaper, how do you evaluate the role and contribution of the newspaper to the cause of the Vietnamese revolution?
- The journey of Lao Dong Newspaper is closely associated with the Vietnamese revolutionary process. Lao Dong Newspaper was born, contributing to gathering forces and forming a front for speech, thereby creating one of the solid premises for the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
When the Party was born, the newspaper's goals were to closely follow and propagate the Party's revolutionary goals and tasks.
With the victory of the August Revolution, the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam opened a new era, in which the role of the working class shifted from fighting for power to leading the Fatherland. During this period, Lao Dong Newspaper, as the voice of the working class, together with the entire revolutionary press, entered a new phase: Protecting achievements and supporting the regime.
Through the two resistance wars against French colonialism and American imperialism, Lao Dong Newspaper has been a source of encouragement and encouragement for the spirit of patriotic emulation, production and fighting of workers and laborers on both the front and the back.
In the process of rebuilding the country after the war and especially during the 1986 Doi Moi period, the newspaper continues to be an effective bridge between the Party, the State, the Trade Union organization and workers, contributing to strengthening the great national unity bloc.
In all those stages, Lao Dong Newspaper has accompanied the historical process of Vietnam, overcome countless difficulties and always excellently completed its mission. The consistent mission and also the most core value that Lao Dong Newspaper always pursues is to protect workers.
The newspaper delves into hot issues, existing problems of society in all fields from economy, culture to society. It can be said that there were times when the newspaper went into very thorny issues, expressing a very clear "fighting spirit", not afraid of collisions. That is the identity of Lao Dong Newspaper.
Entering the digital age, Lao Dong Newspaper continues to affirm its pioneering role, with the launch of electronic versions very early and continuously innovating.
To continue and promote that identity in the "digital era" that he just mentioned, transformation is an inevitable requirement. A clear demonstration of this is that Lao Dong Newspaper has risen to become the leader of the Central press agencies in digital transformation in 2024. In your opinion, what are the key factors that help a traditional newspaper make a strong breakthrough in such a new and competitive field?
- The clearest evidence of the breakthrough in the current period is the bold and pioneering of Lao Dong Newspaper in applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the entire production process. The use of AI does not stop at individual applications but is widely integrated: from using virtual MCs for TV reports, creating illustrative photos, automatically converting text into speech (text-to-speech), to analyzing big data to understand readers and optimize content.
Technology has become an effective means for newspapers to better perform the function of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of workers, spreading humane stories and enhancing the inherent "fighting spirit". Technology helps the voice of the newspaper reach more people, faster and have greater influence.
Investing in technology to get closer to readers and the public in the new context is a completely correct strategy. This is not a random move but an inevitable need for a newspaper with a history. In recent times, the newspaper has had strong breakthroughs, showing very rapid change and adaptation.
Can you share more specifically about the core factors that a press agency needs to focus on to implement substantial and effective digital transformation?
- The current context requires a drastic change. To talk about the digital transformation process, there are three core issues that need to be solved.
The first and also the decisive factor, is the awareness and determination of the leader. If the leader is not determined to change, let the culture follow the old ways - that will slow down the development of the newspaper. The thinking of "Just do as you are good at" is no longer appropriate. Not only changing awareness strongly, leaders must spread their energy so that the whole system can change: from the way of governance, the way of journalism, to the way of thinking about journalism economics.
Second, it is necessary to determine the correct "calculation" and solve it step by step. Digital transformation is a continuous process, not just a done project. Don't think that this is something too big that you can't afford. The viewpoint that my newspaper is still being watched by many people, I dont need to convert is incorrect, because technology is changing every day.
Third, we must unify awareness and improve skills for the entire press conference. It is necessary to build a new operating process and everyone must be unified to change together. To do so, each individual in the publishing department, from reporter to editor, must be fostered and updated with new skills.
As a State management agency, what orientations does the Press Department have in the coming time to both promote the digital transformation process and ensure sustainable development for the press?
- First of all, it must be affirmed that technology is an irreversible trend, it shapes the future of a country. Our Party and State have been very sensitive in issuing specific resolutions and action strategies on innovation and AI, creating a new space and momentum for development.
. From a management perspective, we have the following orientations.
One is the general orientation. Press agencies need to closely follow the strategies, action plans and budget sources that the State has allocated for science and technology to build a roadmap for their units.
Next is to build a soft legal corridor. We will research, refer to international experience and coordinate with relevant parties to issue ethical regulations when using AI. It may not be necessary to legalize immediately, but there will soon be a code of conduct on AI to make the most of the advantages of technology, while limiting negative consequences and impacts.
Finally, it is about improving capacity. We will continue to organize training courses, fostering digital skills, knowledge of digital transformation and new technology trends, especially for the leadership team of press agencies so that they have enough vision and knowledge to lead change.
Sincerely thank you!
I believe that Lao Dong Newspaper will continue to promote the values and achievements it has achieved. In the digital age, Lao Dong Newspaper is completely deserving to be one of the top newspapers in Vietnam. With a new vision and mission, Lao Dong Newspaper can reach out to the region and have a spread in the world
