Mainstream media is still the "anchor" of readers' trust

On June 19, within the framework of the 2nd National Press Forum - 2025, the first discussion session took place with the theme "Vietnamese press in the new era: Vision for creating development space".

Readers still seek out "official" newspapers

Speaking at the discussion session, Alternate member of the Party Central Committee, Permanent Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Hai Binh shared about the movement of global media and the issues raised for Vietnam.

Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh said: Reviewing the development process, we can see that the world press has gone through a number of stages. From the beginning of the 21st century until now, the world press has gone through many stages of unprecedented rapid movement. If in the past, the shift in technology, journalism methods and media thinking often took place over several decades, today, the change takes place in just a few years, even a few months.

Alternate member of the Party Central Committee, Permanent Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Hai Binh speaks at the discussion session.

The transition period of journalism is also the transition period from the old millennium to the new millennium, we see the emergence of the Internet, websites... Then from 2006 - 2007, we witnessed the story of multimedia and multi-platform integration and it was from this time that the term converged newsroom began to appear... Next is the digital transformation period, which can be counted from around 2018 - 2020 and exploded strongly when the COVID-19 pandemic occurred. At the same time, the outstanding achievements of the fourth industrial revolution and the explosive development of digital platforms have pushed the world press into a new, fast, fierce and challenging cycle.

However, Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh said that although the press is strongly affected by technology, users and readers around the world still have to find a place to rely on or an anchor of trust, there are still 40% of people still waiting to find mainstream press. Readers still wish to hold a printed newspaper in their hands, to smell the ink emanating from the newly produced newspapers this morning. The very happy story is that not only older readers, but also the younger generation... also wish for this. As the clip shared by journalist Le Quoc Minh at the opening of the Forum about a nearly one kilometer long line, mainly young people waiting to receive the special issue of Nhan Dan newspaper on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification, gives us great confidence in the development of the press...

Looking back over the past 100 years of Vietnamese revolutionary journalism, the Deputy Minister affirmed: "We are very proud of the unique characteristics of Vietnamese revolutionary journalism, which are: fighting spirit, perseverance, and growth, even during fierce war periods, when each newspaper printed had to be exchanged with the blood of the journalists. The newspapers that reached the hands of compatriots in occupied areas were also exchanged with blood, creating the strong vitality of revolutionary journalism. Reviewing the above things, we can see that there is full confidence from the world's bases in the unique features of Vietnamese revolutionary journalism, so that we can think about the future."

Dr. Le Quoc Vinh - Communication expert, Chairman of Le Group of Companies shared at the discussion session

According to Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh, for the Vietnamese press, in addition to the "all too obvious" challenges, from financial mechanisms, competitive media environment, to digital transformation requirements, each journalist needs to clearly see the unique features that make up the intrinsic strength of the Vietnamese revolutionary press. First of all, it is the revolutionary nature, the deep and consistent concern of the Party and State....

Recently, President of the Vietnam Journalists Association Le Quoc Minh led a delegation of outstanding journalists to visit Guangzhou, where exactly 100 years ago, President Ho Chi Minh founded Thanh Nien newspaper, starting the revolutionary press movement. Looking out into the world is necessary, but sometimes, it is thanks to those trips that we become more deeply aware of the value of Vietnamese journalism, a journalism that is politically sponsored, backed by legal policies and supported by the entire political system.

"Currently, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is completing the Press Law, including many opinions from agencies and sectors... Journalists have contributed many opinions, but the joy is that agencies, ministries and sectors from the central to local levels, and the National Assembly have all expressed their support and created extremely favorable conditions in a space for press development, including the story of press association, press economy, expanding revenue sources..." - Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh said.

Content quality is still the "core"

Sharing about the challenges of the press from the explosion of digital space, Dr. Le Quoc Vinh - Media expert, Chairman of Le Group of Companies said: "The biggest challenge for the press today is the explosion of digital space. In the era of strong social network development, users can post information almost instantly, without going through any censorship process. If in the past the press competed by speed and quantity of news, today, these two factors are no longer advantages.

Speakers shared at the discussion session

Besides, the biggest problem of the press today is to regain the trust of the public and readers based on the truth. Trust based on the truth is something that the press is not affected by the information flow on social networks. The press needs to create information that is true. The information that the press now publishes is not all, but a very large proportion only reflects what social networks are saying, social networks are creating, social networks are challenging businesses, social issues, our press reports what they are saying.

Through that, Dr. Le Quoc Vinh emphasized: "The press cannot be a copy of social networks but must be a gatekeeper, like the person who allows what kind of information and content can reach the public. At the same time, the press must also be a beacon of information orientation and a place where the public turns to when confused.

g amid the sea of ​​fake news and information noise... The press does not stop at reflecting events, but must play a role in creating society, offering solutions, providing new perspectives, and at the same time becoming a center for interaction and connecting its community."

View of the discussion session

However, to do this, Dr. Le Quoc Vinh believes that the press needs to move towards a model of creation and solutions, instead of just stopping at the usual reflection. In addition, the press must also become a center of connection and interaction, creating open forums to increase public participation; building a loyal community. "The pillars of creating a new reality for the press include: Content quality is the core; technological innovation and comprehensive digital transformation; diversifying sustainable business models and focusing on training and developing human resources"

At the discussion session, speakers also focused on clarifying the transformation and movement of global journalism, the reality and challenges of Vietnamese revolutionary journalism, and the role and mission of journalism in the new era./.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/bao-chi-chinh-thong-van-la-diem-neo-niem-tin-cua-doc-gia-20250619220009525.htm