At the 10th session of the 15th National Assembly, the National Assembly will consider and approve the Press Law (amended). This issue is attracting the attention of journalists and public opinion. Lao Dong reporter had an interview with Associate Professor, Dr. Ha Huy Phuong - Senior Lecturer, Academy of Journalism and Communication on this content.
This draft of the Press Law (amended) adds the content of "multi-medium media agency". In your opinion, what does this regulation mean for the construction of strong national communication centers?
- The addition of the content of "multi-medium main media agency" in this Draft Law on Journalism (amended) is an important step forward, demonstrating the adaptability of Vietnamese press law to modern media trends in the digital age.
This is the basis for forming key national and local media centers with competitive capacity, contributing to ensuring information sovereignty and orienting public opinion.
To put this content into practice, what criteria need to be clarified, sir?
- To make this content feasible, it is necessary to clarify specific criteria such as scope, scale, organization model, technology convergence level; at the same time, there should be appropriate investment, financial, and human resource mechanisms, encourage convergence court models, smart newsrooms, and clear coordination and decentralization mechanisms.
Only then will main media agencies of many means truly become the locomotives, leading the press system in the digital transformation era.
Regarding content related to press economics, the draft Law has mentioned financial mechanisms, revenue sources, and autonomy of press agencies. How does this mean for the development of journalism in the current context?
- When the press economy is legalized, there will be a clear legal basis for press agencies to be financially autonomous, diversify revenue sources, mobilize legal social resources, and still ensure compliance with political orientation and goals to serve public interests.
Specific regulations on financial mechanisms, autonomy, resource responsibility, etc. will help remove many administrative constraints, creating conditions for press agencies to be more proactive in organizing content production, investing in technology, developing human resources and applying digital transformation.
However, for the press economy to develop sustainably, the law needs to clarify the line between economic activities and political tasks, have a transparent control mechanism and specific priority policies for agencies performing strategic propaganda tasks.
At that time, the press economy is not only a financial tool, but becomes an endogenous development driver to help Vietnamese press be strong, autonomous and compete healthily in the global media environment.
In the context of strong digital transformation, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in press activities is of interest to many people. In your opinion, what principles should be set out to ensure that AI supports the development of journalism without reducing the creative, ethical and responsible role of journalists?
- I think it is necessary to add regulations on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in journalism activities to suit the trend of modern media development.
However, for AI to truly become a support tool and not replace humans, the Press Law (amended) needs to set out clear principles to ensure a balance between technology and professional ethics.
First of all, it is necessary to affirm the central role of journalists and press agencies in all content production processes - AI is only a tool to support data collection, processing and creative suggestions, and does not have the right to automatically publish or disseminate information without being verified, edited and responsible by humans.
Second, it is necessary to stipulate the principle of transparency about the origin of content created by AI, avoiding deceiving the public or violating copyright and private life.
Third, it is necessary to ensure the ethics, humanity and social responsibility of information, prevent the risk of AI creating fake news, distorting the truth or spreading prejudices.
Finally, there should be professional standards and specific technical instructions for journalists to use AI properly, safely and effectively.
At that time, artificial intelligence will not reduce the role of human creativity but, on the contrary, become a "smart assistant" to help journalists improve the quality, speed and depth of journalism in the digital age.
Thank you, Associate Professor, Dr. Ha Huy Phuong!
