The newspaper acts as a political commissar.

Seventy-five years ago, to promptly serve the demands of ideological and political work and propaganda during the peak of the resistance war against French colonialism, the General Staff decided to merge the two newspapers, "National Defense Army" and "Guerrilla Army," into the People's Army Newspaper (Báo QĐND). Not only was it honored to have President Ho Chi Minh name it, but from the very first issue (October 20, 1950), the journalists of the People's Army Newspaper received President Ho Chi Minh's directive: "Speak about things that are truly practical, in line with the political line, avoid jokes, write concisely and simply, draw easy-to-understand illustrations, present clearly, and avoid continuing onto other pages." This invaluable teaching has always remained in the minds and hearts of every journalist at the People's Army Newspaper.

The editorial board of the People's Army Newspaper reports to President Luong Cuong on the results of the newspaper's political tasks over the past period. Photo: TRONG HAI

Previously, on December 27, 1944, 81 years ago, the newspaper "Tiếng súng reo" (The Sound of Gunfire) – the predecessor of the People's Army Newspaper – was published just 5 days after the establishment of the Vietnam Propaganda and Liberation Army – the predecessor of the Vietnam People's Army. General Võ Nguyên Giáp directly supervised the publication of "Tiếng súng reo". The rapid publication of "Tiếng súng reo" alongside the establishment of the Vietnam Propaganda and Liberation Army shows that General Võ Nguyên Giáp deeply understood President Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on building revolutionary armed forces and on armed propaganda work: "Politics is more important than military affairs ," "it is a propaganda army," "military affairs without politics are like a tree without roots"... In the early days, when our army only had 34 soldiers and no branches or services, we already had a press army. Information, political theory, and political ideology created strength and fighting power. General Vo Nguyen Giap emphasized that: "Running a newspaper is like organizing a coordinated battle."

For the journalists of the People's Army Newspaper, the 81st and 75th anniversaries are both milestones, clearly demonstrating the newspaper's role in the history of the Vietnam People's Army, as well as in the history of the Vietnamese revolution, closely linked to the revolutionary activities of President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap. It is evident that, for these revolutionary leaders, the press was a particularly important revolutionary weapon, a first and foremost necessity.

Because of the high regard for the press and the power of journalism, in the first issue of the People's Army Newspaper, Comrade Nguyen Chi Thanh—then Head of the General Political Department—wrote the first political commentary on the front page with the title "Winning and Protecting the Crops".

The General Staff assigned the first Editor-in-Chief (Chief Editor) of the People's Army Newspaper to Comrade Le Liem, who was then the Deputy Head of the General Political Department. Veteran journalist Pham Phu Bang (1930-2024) recounted: “The articles written by Mr. Le Liem were read very carefully by almost all the highest-ranking officers; every political commissar of the division and regiment had to read them very carefully. These were articles of a directive nature, linked to strategic intentions. In this case, the newspaper played the role of a Political Commissar.” During the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, Comrade Le Liem was the Head of Political Affairs of the Front, and was assigned by General Vo Nguyen Giap, Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of the Front Party Committee, to organize the publication of the People's Army Newspaper at the front. Upon receiving the order, the People's Army Newspaper organized a forward editorial office, publishing 33 issues right at the front, distributing them directly to officers and soldiers in the trenches, encouraging and motivating the fighting spirit of the troops.

Officers and reporters from the People's Army Newspaper visited the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School historical site in April 2025. Photo: VIET TRUNG

Amidst the flames of the two great national resistance wars, the officers and reporters of the People's Army Newspaper (QĐND) did not shy away from hardship and sacrifice, venturing onto the battlefields and fronts, promptly conveying the directives and resolutions of the General Military Commission and the General Staff to officers and soldiers; reflecting in a timely manner the courageous and tenacious fighting spirit and heroic achievements of our army and people. The People's Army Newspaper has nine journalists who are martyrs, bravely sacrificing their lives on the battlefield. In particular, two journalists were posthumously awarded and granted the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces: Senior Lieutenant, martyr Lê Đình Dư and Colonel Đặng Thọ Truật. The words of Hero of the People's Armed Forces, martyr Le Dinh Du, have gone down in the history of Vietnamese revolutionary journalism when speaking about the stance of military journalists and reporters: "A soldier can stand and shoot, kneel and shoot, or lie down and shoot, but we reporters at this time can only stand upright in the trenches, using our weapons—cameras and pens—to record the victories of our comrades and the crimes of the enemy!"

Images of the People's Army Newspaper published at the Dien Bien Phu Front appeared at the ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of Vietnam's Revolutionary Press Day, June 2025. Photo: Tuan Huy

After the country achieved peace and reunification, and especially during the period of reform, the People's Army Newspaper (QĐND) has effectively fulfilled its role in guiding ideology, disseminating information, and promoting the Party's guidelines and policies, as well as the State's laws and regulations, particularly in the military and defense sectors. It has also combated erroneous viewpoints, countered the "peaceful evolution" conspiracy, and opposed manifestations of "self-evolution" and "self-transformation." The newspaper vividly reflects the lives, struggles, labor, and production of cadres, soldiers, and the people, contributing to strengthening faith, inspiring patriotism, revolutionary will, and the aspiration to build a prosperous and happy country and firmly defend the socialist Fatherland.

Speaking during his visit and working session with the People's Army Newspaper on October 19, 2015, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (1944-2024) emphasized: “The People's Army Newspaper is truly a heroic newspaper of the heroic Vietnamese People's Army and the heroic Vietnamese nation. This is an important and indispensable newspaper in the Vietnamese revolutionary press system; one of the leading political newspapers of the country and the Army, with its own prestige and identity.”

Constantly innovating but remaining steadfast and preserving our identity.

"Prestige" and "identity" are invaluable assets of the People's Army Newspaper (QĐND). Under any circumstances, the QĐND Newspaper has always been a loyal soldier on the ideological and political front, steadfast in its political stance, adhering strictly to the viewpoints and guidelines of the Party and State, and effectively implementing the resolutions and direct directives of the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, and the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army. The newspaper adheres to its principles and objectives and maintains the identity of a political newspaper, a Party newspaper within the Army. Along with its political focus, the QĐND Newspaper is also a newspaper rich in culture, featuring many famous writers, poets, and artists, such as the generation of resistance fighters against the French like Tham Tam and Thoi Huu..., the generation of resistance fighters against the Americans like Anh Ngoc, and later generations like Do Trung Lai, Tran Anh Thai, and Hong Thanh Quang... with many famous poems and songs included in general education textbooks, and many of whom have been awarded State Prizes for Literature and Art. Last September, three artists who previously worked at the People's Army Newspaper – Mai Văn Hiến, Nguyễn Bích, and Dương Hướng Minh – were honored to have streets named after them in Điện Biên Phủ ward, Điện Biên province.

The newspaper was honored to be named QĐND (People's Army Newspaper) by President Ho Chi Minh, with the phrase "Serving the People!" displayed above the newspaper's name on the masthead. Therefore, the QĐND newspaper must definitely serve the information needs of cadres, soldiers, and the people well. The newspaper must proactively reach out to readers and provide information on issues that readers are interested in.

Representatives of different generations of journalists from the People's Army Newspaper met to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its founding. Photo: Tuan Huy

In the current context, the People's Army Newspaper must innovate in order to effectively fulfill its role as a leading, multi-media news agency that shapes public opinion. This is because social media is becoming a powerful force in fierce competition with mainstream journalism, and international media platforms are creating significant competitive pressure in terms of speed, attractiveness, and reader reach.

The tastes of young readers demand that the People's Army Newspaper actively innovate its approach and apply new technologies. With the attention of the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, and the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army, the People's Army Newspaper has implemented a comprehensive digital transformation, from content to form, journalistic methods, and reader engagement methods. The newspaper has built a multi-media, multi-platform communication system, combining print, online, and modern digital platforms. Print newspapers are still considered historical monuments, a page of history for today's generation, not only for disseminating information but also for preserving invaluable information.

Online newspapers have the advantage of digital technology, delivering multimedia information and making it easier for readers to access. The People's Army Newspaper's online edition has attracted a large readership with high-quality articles, videos, infographics, and podcasts. The newspaper has proactively developed content on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Zalo. It also focuses on developing innovative journalistic products and data-driven journalism by applying modern technologies. The newspaper has been an early adopter of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics to optimize content, predict reader trends, and personalize the user experience.

Delegates present flowers to artists and actors participating in the closing ceremony and awards presentation of the 4th "Protecting the Party's Ideological Foundation in the New Situation" writing contest, jointly organized by the People's Army Newspaper and the Vietnam Journalists Association, May 2025. Photo: TUAN HUY

In the information competition with social media, the People's Army Newspaper confidently wins and retains its readership. Social media cannot replace journalistic information because the nature, role, and responsibility of journalism and social media are fundamentally different. In the chaotic world of social media, users cannot distinguish between right and wrong, truth and falsehood. Therefore, journalism remains a solid source of information for society and a tool of information for the Party and the State. For those working at the People's Army Newspaper, the accuracy, truthfulness, and reliability of information are matters of vital importance.

Technology is very important; however, the People's Army Newspaper (Báo QĐND) always recognizes that people are the subject and the center. People are the target audience for the newspaper's service, and the quality of human resources is the decisive factor in the newspaper's development. Recently, a trend has emerged in Vietnamese journalism that overemphasizes and overuses AI. However, the results of AI work are related to automated input data on foreign technology platforms, so using AI to produce journalistic content would be difficult to control effectively, and the risk of errors is unpredictable. Therefore, journalists at the People's Army Newspaper only use AI for support and reference, but do not rely on AI to produce content or allow AI to lead them.

Journalism is considered one of the intellectual professions, possessing an elite aspect. Thanks to AI, journalism will become less strenuous, but if this is not limited, it could easily lead to the misconception that journalism is a simple job, and journalists will be digging their own grave.

No matter how intelligent it is, AI is still just a machine; it has no heart, no human emotions, cannot empathize with people, and certainly cannot replace humans in journalistic work.

Recognizing this, the People's Army Newspaper has always determined that improving the quality of the newspaper relies on its journalistic workforce. Therefore, it has focused on training reporters and editors who are both politically sound and professionally competent, possessing strong political convictions, excellent professional skills, and technological proficiency, while also being emotionally sensitive, receptive to beauty, defending what is right and good, and criticizing and fighting against evil, negativity, and decadence.

The People's Army Newspaper (QĐND) has been twice awarded the title of Hero: Hero of the People's Armed Forces and Hero of Labor; and has been awarded the Gold Star Order – the highest honor of our State. 75 years since its first issue, the People's Army Newspaper has undergone continuous innovation and development, but its quality and identity have always been maintained. The People's Army Newspaper always strives to be worthy of the trust of the Party, the State, and the Army, always remaining a close, sincere, and beloved friend of the people, making positive contributions to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland.

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/chao-mung-ky-niem-75-nam-ngay-thanh-lap-bao-quan-doi-nhan-dan/kien-dinh-va-doi-moi-o-to-bao-hai-lan-anh-hung-885639