What makes journalism different in a sea of ​​fake news?

Challenges of journalism in the 4.0 era

On the occasion of the 98th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925 - June 21, 2023), Mr. Le Quoc Minh, member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association, had an interview with Nguoi Dua Tin (NDT) about the challenges of journalists today and the strategy of digital transformation of journalism.

Investor: Sir, as someone who has been involved in journalism for many years, could you please share about the challenges of journalism in today's society, especially when social networks are growing and exploding strongly?

Chairman Le Quoc Minh: The press has many opportunities, but also many difficulties ahead. If in the past the press was almost the only information channel for people to access and grasp information, now information is everywhere, not only information on social networks but also ministries, departments, branches, localities, organizations, businesses... all have websites, electronic information portals. This is a natural change of society and of communication trends, of communication technology.

With the rapid development of the internet, technology and social networks, anyone can create a website, open a social network account and post the content they like. Users are "flooded" with information, so the press is no longer the only channel to find information. Therefore, the press will have to compete with many other sources of information. And it should be noted that in that sea of ​​information, the amount of bad and toxic information is increasing day by day.

In addition, due to the development of new technology and social networks, users' information reception behavior has changed a lot, they are no longer patient to read long articles like before; plus watching short videos on TikTok, Facebook Reels... gradually causes users' behavior to change, unconsciously, attention is reduced.

Mr. Le Quoc Minh, Member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, President of the Vietnam Journalists Association.

Competition in newspapers also comes from revenue sources when advertising revenue on print, radio and television all decline, while total digital advertising costs increase but the portion for newspapers only accounts for a small portion and is even on the decline.

Besides, the human resources who are trained and experienced in the journalism environment are invited to move to other fields... so there is a shortage of journalists.

Not to mention the fact that there is a tendency for users to avoid news. Because they have to read too much negative information, they “disconnect” from the press, do not read newspapers, listen to the radio, do not watch TV… this factor also makes the press more difficult.

Investor: As you have just shared, the challenges that the press will face in the era of technology 4.0 and other social networking platforms are increasingly developing. So, in your opinion, besides the above challenges, what opportunities does the press have to integrate with the natural changes of society?

Chairman Le Quoc Minh: In addition to the challenges mentioned above, the press is also facing many opportunities. Never before has journalism had so many favorable conditions as it does now, such as modern working tools - from hardware to software. With just a smartphone, journalists can easily work from writing articles to taking photos and editing high-quality videos; in addition, there can be support from artificial intelligence in researching documents, checking data, tracking user behavior, personalizing content, etc.

In addition, the ways to generate revenue for the press are now more diverse, unlike traditional press that only relies on advertising revenue. Modern press is applying about 12-13 different business models, from charging online readers, preferential membership mechanisms to brand licensing, e-commerce, technology service business, etc.

Investor: Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha signed Decision No. 348 dated April 6, 2023 approving the Strategy "Digital transformation of journalism to 2025, with a vision to 2030". In your opinion, if the digital transformation strategy of journalism is implemented vigorously, what advantages will press agencies have? And in your opinion, to effectively implement the digital transformation strategy of journalism, what do press agencies need to do?

Chairman Le Quoc Minh: We are facing the reality that users have moved to digital platforms, so traditional platforms such as print newspapers will find it increasingly difficult to reach users. Because users have moved to a new environment, newspapers are forced to follow, and it is better if they can take the lead. If we do not transform digitally, we will lose readers, which means we will lose revenue, so we cannot carry out the important task of propagating the policies and guidelines of the Party and State and providing useful information to the people. The first benefit of digital transformation is to maintain the connection with readers, and if digital transformation is good, it will also increase revenue.

The press faces many opportunities and challenges.

Digital transformation is not only implemented in the content production process, but also in the management and operation of the editorial office. Reality proves that when managed by a modern system, the operation of an agency in general and a press agency in particular will be much simpler, very tight, avoiding the situation where work is not processed or not processed in a timely manner.

We have all seen the effectiveness of digital transformation clearly. The Government has issued the Press Digital Transformation Strategy as a guideline for press agencies in the digital transformation process. It has set clear goals, but the results depend entirely on how the press agencies implement and deploy them. We also acknowledge and appreciate the active digital transformation of some central and local press agencies in the past time, but many other press agencies have not yet developed a clear digital transformation strategy.

Sustainable revenue from readers

NDT: At the National Conference summarizing the work of the Vietnam Journalists Association on April 13, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized that the mainstream press plays the role of the main stream on the news highway. In his role as President of the Vietnam Journalists Association, what programs and plans does the Association have so that the press can continue to fulfill its role as a sharp weapon, an effective tool of the Party on the ideological and cultural front... to guide public opinion and create social consensus?

Chairman Le Quoc Minh: In terms of content orientation, the Central Propaganda Department closely follows this work, coordinating with the Ministry of Information and Communications in general press management. From the perspective of the Vietnam Journalists Association, we have the task of realizing the Party and State's guidelines and policies on professional press, promoting training and coaching programs, focusing on press ethics, researching the development path of modern press for editorial offices to refer to and have their own direction.

To effectively carry out the role of information orientation, becoming the main stream on the news highway, in addition to raising political and ideological awareness, the professionalism of press agencies needs to be further promoted. In addition, in addition to monitoring, criticizing society and exposing negative and inappropriate issues, press agencies need to promote positive information, search for and spread inspirational stories. To deal with the situation of avoiding news, there is a trend in the world press today to focus on solution journalism, constructive journalism. Even when raising a painful issue in society, the press does not stop at informing as before but needs to suggest ways to solve it to make society better.

Investor: Since the press planning and the Covid-19 pandemic, the revenue of press agencies has also decreased and faced difficulties. In the context of the global economic recession, what solutions do you think can help press agencies to have less difficulty in economic autonomy?

Chairman Le Quoc Minh: Currently, we are misunderstanding the word “autonomy”. It seems that many people are understanding “autonomy” as the press agency must “swim on its own” and earn its own money. Recently, there have been documents from the Government requiring increased orders for propaganda from press agencies. This is a very important solution to help press agencies have a proper source of income. It is completely normal for the press to participate in propaganda for ministries, branches and localities to receive funding for policy propaganda. Of course, the quality of propaganda must be inspected and counted transparently to ensure that funds are not wasted.

If localities, ministries and branches are aware of this and order newspapers, it will not only help to effectively propagate and communicate local and ministerial policies, but also help the press generate revenue from its own profession.

Many studies show that press agencies that rely solely on advertising will face extremely difficult times this year and the coming years, especially in the context of the volatile world economy, when businesses are tightening their purse strings. Therefore, press agencies also need to be proactive in diversifying their revenue sources, in which revenue from readers is the most sustainable source of revenue.

Nguoi Dua Tin reporters work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Investor: Could you please share more about your expectations for the development of journalism in the future?

Chairman Le Quoc Minh: The orientation of the Vietnam Journalists Association in this term is “a modern, professional, and humane press”. We think that modernity is a mandatory path for development, professionalism is an eternal requirement for the press, and the humane element is what makes the press different from the millions of billions of mixed true and false information that are pushed onto the Internet every day, helping users feel confident in life when opening the newspaper, turning on the radio or accessing news websites. We also hope that the cultural element will be more prominent in the content of the press.

We hope that the team of journalists will overcome short-term difficulties, move towards the long-term goal, build a team of journalists who are truly professional, modern, humane and cultural. Thus, the official information channel will truly become an important flow in the current sea of ​​information.

Investor: Thank you very much .

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/dieu-tao-khac-biet-cho-bao-chi-trong-hang-ty-thong-tin-that-gia-a613330.html