More than a century accompanying the destiny of the nation
On June 21, 1925, in Guangzhou (China), leader Nguyen Ai Quoc laid the foundation for Vietnamese revolutionary journalism with the launch of the mouthpiece of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth League.
Unlike the purely press that performs the task of transmitting information, from its formation, the Vietnamese revolutionary press has carried a special historical mission: being a sharp weapon on the ideological and cultural front; being a tool for propaganda, enlightenment, organization and gathering of the masses; contributing to the formation of the political and spiritual strength of the nation in the struggle for independence and freedom.
The first newspaper pages of the Vietnamese revolution overcame the control and fierce suppression of colonialism and feudalism to bring the light of Marxism-Leninism, spread patriotism, and aroused national spirit, awakening the aspiration to liberate the country among all classes of people. The press made an important contribution to the process of ideological, political and organizational preparation for the birth of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the explosion of the revolutionary movement, leading to the victory of the August Revolution in 1945, the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
When the revolutionary government was just established in a "life-threatening" situation, the country had to simultaneously face "hunger enemies", "ignorance enemies" and foreign invaders, the revolutionary press continued to take the lead on the propaganda front, mobilizing the people to unite and trust in the leadership of the Party and the Government.
The press actively encouraged the movement to increase production, practice thrift to push back hunger; widely propagated the movement "People's education, eliminate illiteracy"; encouraged people from all walks of life to participate in building revolutionary governments and protecting young independence. The articles, calls for help, and stories of real people and real events in this period have become a great source of spiritual strength, contributing to turning the Party's will into the voluntary actions of the masses.
In the resistance war against French colonial invaders, revolutionary journalism truly became "soldiers on the ideological front". Many press agencies closely followed the battlefield, closely followed the lives of soldiers and people, reflecting the resistance spirit, encouraging patriotism, the spirit of "all people resisting, comprehensive resistance".
Newspapers published in the deep forest, in the war zone, under bombs and bullets are not only information products, but also "spiritual weapons" contributing to consolidating belief in victory, nurturing the will "nothing is more precious than independence and freedom", promoting the strength of great national unity, leading the resistance war against French colonialism to glorious victory with the peak being the Dien Bien Phu Victory in 1954, shaking the earth, opening a new era for the Vietnamese revolution.
Entering the resistance war against the US for national salvation, revolutionary journalism continued to write glorious pages of history. Thousands of journalists were directly present at fierce battlefields, many of whom bravely sacrificed while working. Reportages, photos, footage, and news bulletins from the fire line not only reflected the fierceness of the war but also brightened the courageous spirit and steadfast will of our army and people.
The press has contributed to connecting the front lines with the rear, the South with the North, turning patriotism and the aspiration to unify the country into the strength of the entire nation; encouraging generations of young people to set out to protect the Fatherland, encouraging people to both produce and fight, creating the Great Victory of Spring 1975, completing the cause of liberating the South and reunifying the country.
Looking back at the journey of struggle for independence and national defense, it can be affirmed that in the most difficult moments of the nation, revolutionary journalism was always present at the forefront. Not only reflecting history, journalism also directly participated in making history; not only recording the will of the People, but also contributing to nurturing, spreading and transforming that will into a great revolutionary strength.
Revolutionary journalism in the renovation process: Building trust, consolidating the people's hearts, promoting the strength of great national unity
The country was unified, peace was restored, and the Vietnamese revolutionary press entered a new historical stage - a stage accompanying the People in the cause of healing the wounds of war, restoring the economy, stabilizing social life and building socialism.
In the difficult period after the war, the press continued to promote its role as a pioneering force on the ideological front, mobilizing the entire Party, people and army to overcome deprivations and hardships, and arousing the spirit of self-reliance, self-strengthening, and the will to rise up to build a peaceful, unified and developing country.
In particular, since the Party initiated and led the renovation in 1986, revolutionary journalism has entered a new period of development in terms of scale, content and methods of operation. Journalism has become an important force in propagating and bringing the Party's renovation guidelines into life; contributing to creating unity in awareness, consolidating the trust of cadres, party members and people of all strata in the country's development path.
The great and historically significant achievements of nearly four decades of renovation always have the important contribution of the press. The press has vividly reflected the movements of the country in all fields: developing a socialist-oriented market economy, expanding foreign relations, international integration, ensuring national defense and security, developing culture, and improving the material and spiritual life of the people.
Not only is it a channel to propagate policies and guidelines, the press also performs well its function as a forum for the People. Through the press, thoughts, aspirations, difficulties, and obstacles from real life are reflected to leadership and management agencies; many inadequacies in the process of building and implementing policies are discovered and proposed for amendment; many examples of good people, good deeds, creative models, and new factors are discovered and spread in society.
It is the close connection with people's lives that has created the strength and prestige of revolutionary journalism. A genuine newspaper article must not only stop at reflecting phenomena, but must contribute to solving social problems; not only conveying information, but also inspiring, spreading positive values, and arousing the aspiration to contribute and the spirit of responsibility of each citizen towards the community and the country.
In this day and age, when the country enters a new era of development with the goal of building a powerful and prosperous Vietnam, revolutionary journalism has an even greater responsibility in building and consolidating the "people's heart formation" - a strategic factor for stability, sustainable development and firmly protecting the Fatherland.
The "people's heart formation" is not only built by correct guidelines and policies, but also nurtured by social consensus, by the people's trust in the Party, State and regime. In that process, the press plays a particularly important role in connecting the Party's will with the people's hearts, bringing major policies of the Party and State to the people, and at the same time conveying the voices, thoughts, and legitimate aspirations of the people to leaders at all levels.
The new development context also sets higher requirements for the press. In an open, multi-dimensional information society, each social issue can be viewed from many different angles. Therefore, the press cannot only go behind events to reflect, but must go one step ahead in forecasting, orienting, explaining and creating social consensus; contributing to each major policy, each important reform of the country receiving the consensus, response and active participation of the people.
Especially, in the context of hostile, reactionary forces and political opportunists increasingly thoroughly taking advantage of the internet and social networks to spread false information, distort the Party's guidelines and policies, and divide the flesh and blood relationship between the Party and the People, the revolutionary press must continue to affirm its role as a shock force on the ideological and cultural front.
Fighting to protect the Party's ideological foundation in the new conditions is not only refuting false information, but more importantly, proactively building a stream of positive, accurate, and persuasive information; using the right to push back the wrong, using the beautiful to put aside the bad, using official, scientific and humane information to consolidate social trust.
It can be affirmed that throughout the revolutionary history, from the struggle for national independence, national defense to the renovation and international integration, the press has always been an important component of the national soft power, a solid bridge between the Party, the State and the People, and one of the important forces contributing to building the great national unity bloc.
Entering the new era of development of the country, that mission is not reduced but becomes more profound. The press must continue to innovate to be both a "loyal secretary of the era", and a pioneering force in creating trust, inspiring development, and strongly arousing the aspiration to build a prosperous, civilized, and happy Vietnam.
Strong innovation for revolutionary journalism to continue to play a pioneering role in the digital age
The Fourth Industrial Revolution, the explosive development of artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and digital platforms are creating profound changes in social life, fundamentally transforming the way information is produced, distributed and received.
If in the past the press was one of the main sources of information for society, today each individual with a smart device can become the creator, sharer and spreader of information. This change both creates great opportunities for the press to expand its access to the public, innovate its operating methods, but also poses very big challenges regarding information competition, the risk of fake news, false information, the decline of trust and the complex impacts from cyberspace.
In that context, press innovation is no longer a choice but an inevitable requirement. However, innovation does not mean losing identity, chasing simple tastes or being led by technology. A modern press must first of all be a press that maintains its revolutionary nature, is steadfast in the goal of serving the Fatherland and serving the People; and at the same time masters new scientific and technological achievements to improve the quality and effectiveness of communication.
First, innovate journalism thinking, strongly shift from traditional journalism to digital journalism, digital media. Press agencies need to build a converging editorial office model, taking data as the foundation, taking the public as the center, developing multimedia and multi-platform products, suitable to the new information reception trend. Journalists are not only good at writing and editing skills, but also must have the ability to use digital technology, analyze data, and exploit artificial intelligence to improve the quality of journalistic works.
Second, improve the capacity to forecast, orient and lead public opinion. In the digital age, the speed of information spread takes place every second, every minute; if the press only chases events, it will easily fall into a passive state. Revolutionary journalism must go one step ahead in detecting problems, explaining major guidelines and policies of the Party and the State; proactively provide official, accurate, timely, and in-depth information, creating unity in awareness and consensus in action.
Especially, in the context that the country is implementing many strategic decisions such as streamlining the organizational structure, promoting the development of science and technology, innovation, national digital transformation, private economic development, building a socialist rule-of-law state, deep international integration..., the press needs to promote its role as a pioneering force in policy communication, creating ideological unity, social consensus and strongly arousing the aspiration to develop the country.
Third, maintain the role of the core force on the ideological front, protecting the Party's ideological foundation in cyberspace. Reality shows that hostile, reactionary forces and political opportunists are thoroughly taking advantage of social networks, digital technology and artificial intelligence to spread false information, distort history, deny revolutionary achievements, incite suspicion, erode trust and divide the great national unity bloc.
Therefore, revolutionary journalism must proactively shift from the thinking of "reacting to and handling false information" to the thinking of "creating positive information flows". To win against harmful information, it is not only by refuting it, but more importantly by providing accurate, in-depth, and persuasive information, truthfully reflecting the country's life, the achievements of renovation, and the good values of the regime, thereby strengthening the people's trust.
Fourth, build a team of journalists in the digital age that are both "red" and "expert", with firm political bravery, bright professional ethics and the ability to master new technologies. In the era where AI can support news writing, image creation, and data analysis, the difference of journalists is not in creating more information, but in the ability to detect problems, verify truths, analyze the nature and protect the values of truth - goodness - beauty.
Revolutionary journalists in the new era need to continue to maintain the qualities of "bright heart, pure heart, sharp pen", and at the same time must have digital thinking, digital skills and the ability to adapt quickly to the development of technology.
Fifth, continue to innovate to build a professional, humane, and modern press, truly a reliable forum for the People. The more technology develops, the closer the press must be to the people, understand the people, and speak the voice of the People. All innovations in operating models, technology or ultimate transmission methods must aim for the highest goal of serving the People, consolidating the close relationship between the Party and the People, contributing to building an increasingly solid people's hearts battle.
Looking back at the journey of more than a century, from secret newspapers in the revolutionary movement to modern digital offices today, it can be seen that the form of journalism has changed, the technology of journalism has changed, the media environment has changed, but the mission of Vietnamese revolutionary journalism is still intact.
That is the mission of accompanying the nation; is the voice of the Party, State and socio-political organizations, and at the same time is a reliable forum for the People; is a shock force on the ideological and cultural front; is a bridge between the Party's will and the people's hearts, contributing to building and consolidating the great national unity bloc.
In the digital age, to continue to fulfill that glorious historical mission, revolutionary journalism must constantly innovate thinking, master science and technology, develop modern journalism models, but absolutely not be alienated from its core foundation: taking national - ethnic interests as supreme, taking the People as the center, taking truth, responsibility and humanity as sustainable values.
Only when harmoniously combining the political bravery of revolutionary journalism with the strength of digital technology, between a tradition of more than a century with the spirit of innovation and creativity, will Vietnamese journalism continue to be worthy of being a pioneering force on the ideological front, an important factor in building a solid people's heart battle, promoting the strength of great national unity, contributing to bringing the country into an era of rich and strong development, prosperity and happiness.
