Minh, who is also a member of the Party Central Committee, Vice Chairman of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Information, Education and Mass Mobilization, and Editor-in-Chief of the Nhan dan (People) daily, made the remark during an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925–2025).
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Journalist Le Quoc Minh, Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists’ Association |
He emphasised that press agencies must clearly understand their target readers' demand and adopt the right tools to meet those expectations. However, as they embrace new technologies, preserving their unique editorial voice remains essential.
The official noted every news outlet has its own identity, and losing it means losing value. He called for technology to be leveraged not to replace identity, but to enhance it, allowing Vietnamese journalism to reach both local and global audiences.
Minh went on to say that in the current explosion of social media and digital platforms, journalism is facing unprecedented challenges, especially the emergence of fake news and artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI – whose ability to create fake news far surpasses that of humans.
According to him, every day, around 7 billion pieces of information are shared globally, many of which are unverified, misleading, or even deliberately distorted as fake news.
Social media today is flooded with information that makes it increasingly difficult to distinguish between real and fake news. What’s particularly concerning is that many readers no longer turn to official and trusted news outlets to verify information. Instead, they readily believe unverified content circulating online while such information is becoming more sophisticated and harder to be detected as false.
As public engagement with traditional journalism declines, print newspapers and broadcasting stations are all experiencing reduced audiences. Although digital advertising is growing, the revenue is largely directed toward tech platforms and other products, not journalism itself. As a result, while the advertising "pie" is getting bigger, journalism is receiving a shrinking slice of it.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economy has faced significant challenges, leading to sharp reductions in advertising budgets. As a result, journalism is now grappling with mounting financial pressure and growing difficulties.
For Vietnamese journalism, he pointed out, this risk is even greater as most media outlets still rely heavily on advertising revenue. Since 2024, it has become increasingly clear that dependence on online advertising, based on the model that more views and clicks lead to higher revenue, has proven unsustainable. High click counts no longer guarantee increased digital advertising income.
Partnerships between news outlets and cross-border platforms like Facebook and Google have brought little to no revenue. Once these platforms amass a large enough user base, they often turn their backs on journalism. This presents a serious challenge that press agencies must urgently find solutions to in the near future.
If traditional journalism continues to shrink or, worse, becomes unable to operate, it will no longer be able to fulfil its vital mission – disseminating the Party's policies and the State's laws, and serving as a platform for the voice of the people, Minh said.
He emphasised that the content paywall model is a solution widely adopted by major media outlets around the world to require readers to pay to consume content. Some press agencies in Vietnam have applied this model on a trial basis though they have reaped just modest success. However, he perceived that they should stay persistent in this path, adding it will take some time for users to get used to this model and for press agencies to persuade readers to pay for access to mainstream journalism.
Mentioning its contributions, Minh said that Vietnam’s revolutionary press differs from that of many other countries as it has always placed the spirit of serving the nation and the people above all else. A key mission of the revolutionary press is to disseminate the Party’s policies and the State’s laws, to serve as a platform for the people’s voices, and to provide constructive feedback on social policies.
Since its early days, when there were only a few newspapers with very limited pages and a small group of journalists, the Vietnamese press has followed this path to encourage, inspire, guide, and even take part in revolutionary activities. During the struggles for national independence, it effectively reported on the progress of the troops on battlefields and during negotiation sessions. In peacetime, it has continued to highlight the country’s socio-economic development.
Notably, in recent years, while catching up with global media trends, Vietnamese journalism has retained its core essence: serving the Fatherland, serving the people, and popularising the Party’s guidelines and the State’s laws. This enduring commitment is the greatest contribution by Vietnam’s revolutionary press over the past 100 years, he stressed.
According to preliminary statistics, a total of approximately 512 journalists-soldiers laid down their lives during times of war. Of these, more than half were journalists-martyrs from the VNA.
The VJA Chairman affirmed that thanks to their courage, bloodshed, and even their lives, the country has invaluable news reports and photographs that have been preserved until today. Many of these martyrs remain missing, with their burial sites still unknown. The VJA, press agencies, and families of the journalists-martyrs are stilol continuing efforts to find their remains.
Recently, the VJA held a requiem for fallen journalists-martyrs at Au Lac Pagoda (also known as Da Pagoda) in Vinh city, the central province of Nghe An. This is the only pagoda in the country that is dedicated to commemorating the 512 journalists-martyrs who died while working during wartime and in the cause of national construction and safeguarding, Minh added.
Regarding the advantages and challenges amid the streamlining and reorganisation of press agencies, he affirmed that this is a right policy as new technologies enable press outlets to operate more efficiently with fewer personnel.
To be mentally prepared for this transition, he emphasised that each individual in general, and those working in journalism in particular, needs to equip themselves with flexible skills and knowledge to adapt to any environment, he said.
The official went on to say that journalism is facing a critical turning point which poses many challenges. However, when these challenges are thoroughly acknowledged, journalists are also presented with opportunities to work more professionally and creatively, to compete and affirm the stature of mainstream journalism, and to show the capabilities of each journalist as well as each press agency.
He called on press agencies and journalists to constantly innovate and be creative so that they can develop their own identity and unique imprint, thereby attracting more readers, viewers, and listeners.
Source: VNA