Faced with the immense challenges from the development of social media and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, what must Party newspapers do to both fulfill their core role in shaping public opinion and serve as the Party's sharpest weapon on the ideological front, while also meeting the increasingly rich and diverse needs of readers, listeners, and viewers?
A reporter from Thanh Hoa Newspaper interviews a witness who participated in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. Photo: Tran Thanh
In response to new demands and circumstances, and in implementation of the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Party and the Politburo on the establishment of local Party newspapers, in early February 1962, the Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee issued Resolution No. 18 NQ/TU on the issue of publishing a provincial Party newspaper. With thorough preparation in all aspects, the first issue of the Thanh Hoa Newspaper was published on March 20, 1962. In May 1966, the Thanh Hoa Newspaper was renamed Thanh Hoa Newspaper. Since then, March 20th has become the traditional day of Thanh Hoa Newspaper – the mouthpiece of the Provincial Party Committee, the voice of the Party Committee, the government, and the people of Thanh Hoa.
Throughout its 62-year journey of development, Thanh Hoa Newspaper has continuously innovated to meet the political and ideological requirements of the Party in various revolutionary periods. During the resistance war, with the spirit of the Ho Chi Minh era and the motto "Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom"; "All for our beloved South, for socialism, determined to defeat the American invaders" were always the dominant themes in every news item, article, and photograph on the newspaper's pages; promptly encouraging and motivating cadres, Party members, and all strata of the people to compete in production and combat. Even in its early days, due to its attention to both praise and criticism, Thanh Hoa Newspaper had three articles that received letters of commendation from President Ho Chi Minh. President Ho Chi Minh's close attention to the newspaper of a local Party committee and these specific articles became a great source of encouragement and inspiration for generations of Thanh Hoa Newspaper staff.
During the period of reform, with the attention of the province and the right investment in technology, the staff of Thanh Hoa Newspaper has grown significantly. Thanh Hoa Newspaper has affirmed its role as the province's leading media agency, providing official, reliable, accurate, and timely information, leading the way in shaping public opinion, actively combating harmful and toxic information, criticizing negative social phenomena, promoting patriotic emulation movements, and effectively serving political tasks and the needs of its readers.
However, like other media outlets, Thanh Hoa Newspaper faces many difficulties and challenges from the rapid development of social media platforms and new communication methods in a flat world. The urgent need is to change journalistic thinking to enhance the role and character of revolutionary journalism in the diverse flow of information, ensuring that journalistic products are easily accessible to users and create an active public community.
Comrade Dao Xuan Yen, Standing Committee Member and Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department, congratulated Thanh Hoa Newspaper, the Provincial Radio and Television Station, and the authors/groups of authors who won awards at the 8th Golden Hammer and Sickle Award in 2023. Photo: Tran Thanh
Therefore, Thanh Hoa Newspaper has actively innovated and created new approaches in management, production, and publishing processes, quickly adapting to digital transformation. Thanh Hoa Newspaper is one of the first local Party newspapers to operate a fully integrated newsroom with all types of media – print, online, television, and radio – on digital platforms, with the motto: "Wherever the reader is, the newspaper is there." Simultaneously, it has digitized its publishing process management, internal editorial administration, and two-way interaction with readers. In its development strategy, Thanh Hoa Newspaper identifies print publications as its main focus, while online publications are its spearhead. Information selected for publication in daily, weekend, and monthly print publications, as well as on online news sites and cultural/lifestyle websites, is geared towards reaching diverse audiences to meet their varied needs. Thanh Hoa Newspaper's journalistic products have diversified their communication channels towards multi-content, multi-platform approaches, and are disseminated strongly and quickly on social media platforms such as Facebook, Zalo, YouTube, and TikTok, contributing to the successful fulfillment of political tasks while meeting the increasingly diverse needs of readers, listeners, and viewers.
Thanh Hoa Newspaper has prioritized the training and development of human resources to apply new techniques in journalistic production, developing diverse new products that integrate multimedia, visuals, and vividness (combining images and sound), and publishing print newspapers in PDF format on its online platform for reader convenience. Many events have been updated online and broadcast live on the online newspaper and other digital platforms. According to statistics from several reputable ranking organizations, in 2023 Thanh Hoa Newspaper was ranked among the top 10 local Party newspapers with the highest readership nationwide.
Alongside its strong digital transformation, Thanh Hoa Newspaper has focused on creating high-quality works with positive social impact. It has been a pioneer in information dissemination and public opinion guidance on important political, economic, social, defense, security, and foreign affairs tasks of the province and the country. It prioritizes commending good people and good deeds, advanced models, effective methods, and new initiatives. Regarding negative issues, the newspaper does not shy away from them but analyzes and reports in a constructive manner. For issues of public concern, the newspaper provides multi-faceted information, acting as a bridge to convey the thoughts, opinions, and suggestions of the people to Party committees and authorities at all levels, and to receive responses from Party committees and authorities to readers, fostering understanding and consensus. The main flow of information that newspapers bring to readers, listeners, and viewers is positive and accurate information, combating harmful and negative information, guiding and shaping public opinion towards good things to create consensus and build trust in society and the people in the cause of national construction and development, and in the leadership of our Party.
Deeply imbued with President Ho Chi Minh's teachings: "Journalists are also revolutionary soldiers. The pen and paper are their sharp weapons,"... the staff of Thanh Hoa Newspaper always strive to maintain "Bright Eyes - Pure Hearts - Sharp Pens" to be worthy of the traditions painstakingly built by previous generations; constantly innovating and creating to adapt to the new development trends of media in the digital age, determined to build Thanh Hoa Newspaper into a leading multimedia press agency of the province, pioneering on the information and ideological front to fulfill the glorious mission of revolutionary journalism.
Viet Linh
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