Recalling the words of General Secretary To Lam: "The new era also requires new, higher tasks for revolutionary journalism, requiring journalism to develop commensurately, rise up with the nation, worthy of a professional, humane, modern journalism", the Minister shared his vision and solutions for the strong development of Vietnamese journalism in the digital age.
Pioneering pencil in every historical journey
Reporter: Vietnamese press has gone through a 100-year journey. So how does the Minister evaluate the role, position and outstanding contributions of the national press in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland?
- Minister Nguyen Van Hung: First of all, it must be affirmed that in the journey of the past century, the Party and State have always paid special attention to the field of journalism. At the National Scientific Conference "100 years of Vietnamese Revolutionary Press accompanying the glorious cause of the Party and the nation", leaders of the Party, State, veteran journalists, scientists... highly appreciated the great contributions of the country's revolutionary press in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland, building and developing the country.
Right from the first anniversary of its establishment, under the leadership of leader Nguyen Ai Quoc, newspapers such as Thanh Nien, Tranh Duong, Doc Lap, Cuu Quoc... have carried out many propaganda, education activities and directly organized revolutionary movements, contributing significantly to the dissemination of Marquis-Leninism in Vietnam, laying the foundation for building a foundation for political ideology, theory and revolutionary action of the entire Party, people and army.
In the period of innovation, the press has always been a pioneer in orienting and paving the way for creations and breakthroughs in institutional reform, unlocking resources, contributing to building a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people and for the people. Not only the political and ideological voice of the Party, the press has gradually become an important part of cultural industries, developing more and more healthy, professional, humane and modern.
In the glorious journey of 100 years of the Vietnamese revolutionary press, we cannot forget the sacrifice of journalists who have fallen for the independence and freedom of the nation.We appreciate and are grateful for those contributions as an unforgettable part of the history of the country's press.
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On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day - a particularly important milestone of a journey accompanying the nation, I would like to send my best wishes to journalists nationwide. I especially appreciate the pens that are silently committed to the lives of culture, sports and tourism - where each story not only reflects reality, but also cherishes the soul of the nation, shining the intelligence and personality of every Vietnamese person.
Journalists in the fields of culture, sports and tourism are not only reporters, not only a journey to find beauty, awakening cultural sources, but also quietly touching invisible but immutable values. Each step, each rest stop of the journalist will be beautiful stories, memories, discoveries, reflections, policy criticisms, and can also be a hometown song, a heritage space, a festival or the cheers of a sports match, the touching eyes of tourists when enjoying cultural spaces, folk arts, cuisine imbued with Vietnamese identity... - sophisticated slices to contribute to enhancing and preserving national cultural identity.
(Minister of Foreign Affairs YUYEN HONG)
With the role of state management of the press, can the Minister give a general assessment of the achievements of state management of the press in recent times and the challenges and difficulties ahead that the press is facing?
- First of all, it must be affirmed that, since the Press Law was promulgated by the National Assembly in 2016, it has created an important turning point in institutionalizing press freedom along with state management. New contents such as the rights and obligations of press agencies and journalists; mechanisms for licensing, recalling, specialized inspection, press planning, etc. are clearly regulated, creating a solid legal foundation for press management and development. Since then, the Government and the Ministries have issued more than 31 legal documents guiding and regulating press activities, ensuring political orientation, mobilizing resources and improving the quality of press products.
In the development process, the press is currently facing huge challenges, especially in the context of digital transformation and global integration. The explosion of cyberspace and digital communication makes information control and orientation complicated. Fake news, distorted information, agitated propaganda spread quickly while mainstream press lost market share and leadership advantages...
The skills and professional ethics of a part of journalists have not kept up with the development of digital technology and social standards, thereby posing serious requirements for ethical standards and social responsibility of journalists. The lack of a authentication mechanism and digital trademark for mainstream press makes it easy for the public to misunderstand between mainstream and fake news, undermining the guiding role of revolutionary press. The issues need to be comprehensively and thoroughly recognized and evaluated so that we can find new directions for the development of the country's press.
Three pillars for developing modern journalism: Institutions - Infrastructure - Human resources
One of the biggest challenges that the Minister has just emphasized is the unprecedented development in the history of the world of digital technology, digital tradition and artificial intelligence (AI), which will have a great impact on the press, but also opens up great opportunities and potential ahead, so can the Minister analyze this assessment more clearly?
- The digital age poses great challenges and opens up many new opportunities for Vietnamese journalism. Regarding challenges, it is necessary to mention the shift of readers from traditional media to digital platforms. That requires journalism thinking to change, shifting from production according to the old process to the digital, multimedia process. Journalists in today's era do not just write paper newspapers, but also have to make electronic newspapers, produce videos, livestream, podcast... to attract readers, especially the younger generation.
On the positive side, digital technology also brings great opportunities, journalists can take advantage of digital to make multimedia newspapers, information graphics, sharp reporting videos; readers can even interact directly, provide information or data to reporters... This is the motivation for us to expand opportunities for interaction, multi-dimensional storytelling and increase community for journalism. Moreover, the development of artificial intelligence and Big Data is opening up great potential for journalism: From automating the editing process, personalizing content for readers, to the ability to analyze public opinion trends. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also encourages press agencies to invest in research on the application of modern technology (for example, AI in news synthesis, chatbot interaction, virtual reality for electronic newspapers). If exploited well, technology will help the press make breakthroughs in form and content without losing identity.
It can be affirmed that in the new era of the country, the press holds a particularly important mission - which is its role as a "Knowledge channel - Connecting trust" between the Party, State and people. The press not only transmits information, but also contributes to forming thinking, orienting awareness, building social consensus, creating a combined strength to successfully carry out tasks in the cause of innovation and national development. Faced with the above challenges, first of all, we need to raise awareness and change thinking to adapt to the new situation.
Looking back on the country's development journey in recent times, since the 11th National Congress, our Party has identified three breakthroughs in the Socio-Economic Development Strategy for the period 2011-2020: perfecting institutions, developing human resources and building a synchronous infrastructure system. Applied to the press industry, these three strategic breakthroughs are still valuable, and can be considered a guideline, a solution to help the development of Vietnamese revolutionary press. In the draft document of the 14th Party Congress, these three pillars continue to be mentioned and quantized more carefully in the context of our country preparing to enter an era of rising up, developing richly and prosperously.
In that context, continuing to affirm the role of the press as a solid bridge between the Party, State and people, as the flow of knowledge to nurture national spirit is an urgent requirement and also a constant reminder of the sacred mission of today's writers.
Maintaining the passion for the profession, contributing to creating a sustainable flow of Vietnamese identity
The Minister just mentioned three breakthroughs for the development of Vietnamese revolutionary journalism in the new era. So can the Minister share more about these solutions?
- Vietnam's revolutionary press is entering a special stage of development, where opportunities go hand in hand with challenges. After nearly 40 years of renovation, the foundation, potential, position and international prestige of the country have been enhanced. The revolution of streamlining the organizational apparatus and political system to be effective, efficient and efficient; developing science and technology, innovation and digital transformation; promoting international integration; developing the private economy is a key Seventh to create new opportunities for the strong development of the country in general, including the field of media and journalism, requiring us to make breakthroughs in thinking, determination in action, especially comprehensively innovating modern press management and governance methods associated with digital media and data connection.
To do that, the first problem is the institution. Institutions must be truly synchronous, without gaps, both ensuring state management and unblocking and creating space for press development. The upcoming amendment to the Press Law will focus on the following major orientations: (1) Fully institutionalize the Party's leadership role in the press; ensure freedom of speech and press freedom of citizens according to the 2013 Constitution. The revised Law must clarify the line between press freedom and social responsibility and civic obligations, ensuring transparency but not lax management. (2) Complete regulations related to press activities in cyberspace. (3) Strengthen the management of press activities; The amended Law aims to build an effective monitoring and inspection mechanism to prevent the situation of "reporting to the press" or " decentralizing business communication activities"; promote focused post-inspections, inspections based on quality criteria instead of form control. (4) Improve the quality of journalists and leaders of press agencies to build a team of good professionalism and professional ethics. (5) Promote the development of the press economy to create an open legal corridor so that the press has space to create legal revenue to ensure sustainable development.
The second issue, I think, is to have a more strategic and breakthrough thinking in building infrastructure for the Vietnamese revolutionary press in the direction of expanding the space of synchronous and dual-use digital infrastructure. Because clearly, dual-use workspace will contribute to accumulating the finite, endless knowledge and culture of the country and humanity. The press space is no longer just a "writing space", but must become an editory hall - where data, images, audio, text, and artificial intelligence blend into accurate, attractive, and reliable information lines. That is where it operates with synchronous digital infrastructure, connecting big data, integrating AI technology, optimizing processes from production to multi-platform content publishing. Modern press infrastructure must also know how to integrate the thinking of "dual-use space", both as a professional center and a multimedia knowledge transfer station.
This is a strategic content. In the coming time, the Ministry will continue to advise the Party and State to have appropriate institutions for the development of digital journalism, especially in the spirit of Resolution 57 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in the development of science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation. But first of all, the change must start from within each press agency - from the thinking of the publishing committee's leaders, to the implementation capacity of each journalist. We need to proactively strengthen domestic and international connectivity, mobilize social resources, especially from the private sector - which is being identified as an important driving force of the economy according to Resolution 68 of the Politburo - to invest in journalism not only with finance but also with technology, ideas and high-quality human resources.
We hope that in the upcoming overall planning process of ministries, branches and localities, press infrastructure will no longer be a "working center" in a narrow sense, but will be viewed as a place to nurture knowledge and spread culture. It is necessary to clearly include this content in the resolutions of party congresses at all levels, so that future newsrooms can truly become a center for connecting and leading public opinion. That infrastructure must be capable of connecting press agencies, synchronizing with national databases, and being linked to regional digital centers, contributing to improving forecasting capacity, policy communication and building trust among the people.
In parallel with infrastructure and institutions, the human factor - the team of journalists - is still the center of all development strategies. Journalists in the new era must not only be good at their profession, but also have the ability to master technology, adapt quickly to the digital environment, have a global mindset, multi-industry understanding and always keep the fire of service in themselves. Therefore, investing in training high-quality press human resources is an investment in the future of the country; it is necessary to innovate training programs, nurture press teams in the direction of increasing practice - increasing criticism - increasing political depth - and increasing cultural depth, especially behavioral culture. President Ho Chi Minh advised: " revolutionary journalists need to be close to the people, understand the people, learn the people, speak the people's language and write to serve the people". Uncle Ho's advice is still relevant today when the press is faced with challenges between chaotic, Polar information flows and many signs of deviation and commercialization.
In short, if we want the press to fulfill its mission of "paving the way first, accompanying the implementation, and accompanying the summary", we must act together from institutions - human resources - to infrastructure. These are three pillars that cannot be separated, intertwined and complement each other to jointly aim for the strategic goal of establishing a national press ecosystem with high governance, ensuring the principle of "unity in diversity", both protecting the orientation of political ideology, historical traditions, and national culture; and creating space for creativity, innovation, humanity and modernity. And in the near future, I hope that each publishing house will truly be a conduit connecting knowledge and readers' trust, where information is not only shared, but also elevated to knowledge, inspiration and life value.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day, what would the Minister like to convey to the team of journalists in general and journalists working in the field of culture, sports and tourism in particular?
- On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day - a particularly important milestone of a journey of accompanying the nation, I would like to send my best wishes to journalists nationwide. I especially appreciate the pens that are silently committed to the lives of culture, sports and tourism - where each story not only reflects reality, but also cherishes the soul of the nation, shining the intelligence and personality of every Vietnamese person.
Journalists in the fields of culture, sports and tourism are not only reporters, not only a journey to find beauty, awakening cultural sources, but also quietly touching invisible but immutable values. Each step, each rest stop of the journalist will be beautiful stories, memories, discoveries, reflections, policy criticisms, and can also be a hometown song, a heritage space, a festival or in the cheers of a sports match, the touching eyes of tourists when enjoying cultural spaces, folk arts, cuisine imbued with Vietnamese identity... sophisticated slices to contribute to enhancing and preserving national cultural identity. Each of us journalists is a "cultural ambassador, tourism ambassador, sports ambassador", carrying the qualities of soldiers on the ideological and cultural front, contributing to bringing Vietnamese culture, love for the country, and love for the people closer and deeper to friends around the world.
I hope that journalists in general and journalists writing in the fields of culture, family, sports, tourism, journalism and publishing in particular will continue to preserve the "golden material", which is the unceasing sympathy and commitment. Read with a heart moved by beauty, with eyes that know deeply into identity and with the pioneering spirit of revolutionary journalism. You are the ones who light the fire, sow more faith in the vibrant generation - will contribute to enhancing the portrait of a modern Vietnam that is still imbued with cultural identity, and is increasingly striving for prosperity, wealth, prosperity, civilization and happiness every day.
Sincerely thank the Minister!
