Re- positionalist revolutionary journalism in the digital age
The 2nd National Press Forum in 2025 gathered nearly 1,000 delegates who are leaders of press agencies, journalists, media experts and prestigious speakers.
With 12 working sessions throughout the two days, including the opening and closing ceremony and 10 thematic discussion sessions, the Forum showed a comprehensive approach to the transformation of the Vietnam Revolutionary Press: From thinking about journalism, applying technology, adapting young readers to operating models, content strategies, human resources and journalism economics.
At the opening session on June 19, the presentations consistently emphasized: The press needs to rise to national tasks, playing a leading role in the digital age, but must also have the capacity to operate professionally, independently, sustainably financially and be quick enough to adapt to the wave of technology and increasingly changing reader tastes.
The thematic sessions provide many practical suggestions: How to make data the root of a modern publishing house? How can television and radio - traditional forms of journalism - maintain their role in the cross-platform media environment? What can and should the press do to personalize content, retain Gen Z readers, the generation that accounts for a large proportion of the population structure and is the most unique "technical consumer" ever?
Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Department, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association Le Quoc Minh emphasized in his presentation: In the context of AI penetrating every corner, Vietnamese journalists cannot stand aside.
The Vietnam Journalists Association is actively implementing digital and AI capacity training for thousands of journalists with the mindset of "people learn from AI". Improving AI knowledge, applying technology to news production processes, analyzing trends, personalizing content is an irreversible trend.
Mr. Minh also emphasized the shift from the "stream era" to the "direct Reader era", in which collecting and analyzing reader data will help the drafting committee better understand readers.
The survival strategy of a modern newspaper
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is opening up unprecedented opportunities for the Vietnamese press and media industry, from improving content quality to enhancing social impact, helping news agencies adapt to the digital age and meeting the increasingly high information needs of the public. That is also the main content of the discussion session with the theme "Artificial Intelligence and digital transformation strategy of Vietnamese press secretaries", taking place on the morning of June 20.
Mr. Dao Trung Thanh - Deputy Director of the Institute of Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (ABAII) - gave a series of vivid examples of AI-generated products. During the discussion session, he used AI-generated videos to prove that the press can completely apply AI to save time, but still ensure the liveliness, quality and accuracy of information.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Dong - Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Communications Development (IPS) - presented a survey showing that the rate of AI application in Vietnamese newsrooms has doubled compared to 2023 (reaching more than 60%). However, most of them are still stopping at personal support such as writing titles, translating, checking statements, but have not focused on solving business problems, analyzing reader behavior or a comprehensive operating model.
Mr. Dong raised three major barriers: misfocusing (too much focus on content production), lacking organizational strategy and shortage of resources (both human resources and finance). He called for the development of a clear overall, internal strategy and a code of AI ethics in the journalism industry.
Mr. Dao Quang Binh - General Secretary of VnEconomy Publishing House - shared the practical application of AI in his newspaper, emphasizing that mastering technology, controlling data and personalizing content is the key to enhancing the value and experience of Vietnamese readers.
On June 20, a heated discussion session was also held with the theme: "Revenue in the digital age: Not only advertising, the press must sell more things!" chaired by Mr. Nguyen Van Ba - Editor-in-Chief of Vietnamnet Newspaper.
Mr. Nguyen Van Ba asked: What can the press learn from businesses in the way of creating sustainable cash flow? Why is there a newspaper that sells itself for millions of USD, while in some places there is not enough budget to pay for profit? In the context of the digital economy, what are the limits and what are the opportunities for the press to become a truly economic subject? The discussion session not only talked about "revenue sources", but also talked about the survival of an industry that is finding its core value in an era of change.
