National Press Conference 2024 highlights fostering trust and confidence among journalists

Vietnamese revolutionary journalism is at a very important milestone: Its 100th anniversary coincides with the nation’s transition into a new era of development. At this pivotal moment, what are your perspectives on the mission and responsibility of the press?

The mission of Vietnamese journalism will never change: Serving the nation and the people; effectively disseminating Party and State guidelines and policies; acting as a bridge between the Party and the people; and serving as a forum of the people. However, in today’s context, the responsibility of journalists is more important than ever. I underline this requirement because the press must proactively take the lead, promote positive communication, and create interest, consensus and inspiration in society as the country advances. Global trends show that readers are increasingly turning away from negative news, instead seeking meaningful content that fosters trust, evokes positive emotions and inspires action. At this moment, it is essential to promote, honor and highlight individuals, models, businesses and organizations that demonstrate effective, creative and inspiring practices. The press must also be bold in addressing shortcomings, but more importantly and meaningfully, it should provide thoughtful analysis of information, propose solutions and initiatives that contribute to better policymaking. This is the reason why solution-driven and constructive journalism is emerging as a trend today.

Resolution 68, one of four key pillars, also underscores this content and requires press and media organizations to encourage, promote good models and good innovative and effective practices, and inspire entrepreneurial spirit. What do you think about this?

Honoring good people and good deeds is an essential mission of the press in the world and in Vietnam. This is a sound direction, but in today’s digital age, it must be carried out with a fresh perspective and engaging formats by combining with new technologies to increase communicative impacts, especially on younger audiences. Conversely, uninteresting communication products may drive audiences toward other platforms, making it difficult for the press to fulfill its mission as I said above. Given the requirements in this new era, I think that journalists must remain resilient and directed, enhance their expertise, and importantly embrace continuous innovation to bring fresh, compelling journalistic products to attract their audiences.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia - Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education, and Mass Mobilization - and other leaders perform the release ceremony of the postage stamp set to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day

With new technologies evolving at such a rapid pace, how do you think press agencies should adapt technological progress to better serve their mission?

Over just the past couple of years, journalism technology has made significant strides, fundamentally changing readers’ news consumption habits. Moreover, in the information-saturated environment and fierce competition among social platforms, capturing audience attention and spending more time on journalistic products, particularly from loyal readers, is a major challenge for newsrooms. We have emphasized the need for the press to boldly speed up technological application, even to lead the way in exploring new platforms to grow and retain loyal readership.

Let me take the example of Nhan Dan newspaper. As a news agency that bucks the trend of short-form content and video to create a specialized in-depth page that caters to a more selective audience, with the rise of AI, such traditional, in-depth content has become highly valuable for AI training. Moreover, adopting popular, new technologies aligns well with young readers’ demand for fresh and engaging media products. As a result, Nhan Dan Newspaper’s projects are integrating new technologies. From special editions and featured columns, readers are increasingly interested in traditional journalistic products. This is an effective branding strategy as it fosters deeper connections with readers and builds up new young audiences.

Will the future development of journalism be shaped by the combination of core values and innovations built on technological platforms?

We have moved past the “attention economy” phase where the more a print newspaper was read and sold, the more advertisements it attracted; or the higher a TV program’s viewership is, the higher the rating is. It is now the time to return to journalism’s core value, that is to say, loyalty. A publication that builds a loyal readership is a successful one. According to statistics, about 20% of loyal readers will bring in revenue and pageviews as many as the other 80%, especially for online newspapers. Direct engagement with readers is extremely important. To do so, the newspaper must improve content quality, deeply understand their own audience, and develop a unique identity grounded in continuous innovation. While rapidly advancing technology can greatly support journalistic activities, the creativity of journalists plays a very important role. Choosing this profession, journalists must be committed and dedicated to produce journalistic work grounded by a strong sense of responsibility and driven towards noble social purposes. Journalism is not merely a commercial product because a single article can influence countless people, the fate of a business or even an entire industry.

Thank you very much!