Revenue in the digital age: Newspapers need to “sell” more than news

On June 20, within the framework of the National Press Forum II - 2025, discussion session No. 5 took place with the topic "Revenue sources in the digital age: Not just advertising, newspapers must sell more!"

Journalism is not just about publishing.

Speaking at the opening of the discussion session, Editor-in-Chief of Vietnamnet Newspaper Nguyen Van Ba ​​affirmed that revenue is a vital issue for the press.

Speakers at the discussion session

Mr. Nguyen Van Ba ​​said: Nowadays, a newsroom is not only faced with the problem of "writing well" or "working quickly", but must answer a bigger question: The press is the "guide" for society in terms of information, awareness, and public opinion orientation, but in the digital age, that role is being challenged by a very practical question: What does the press live on? If journalism is considered a profession, then like any other profession, it must support itself. It cannot live on ideals forever. It cannot exist without cash flow.

The current situation shows that: Traditional advertising is declining. Media services are potentially risky. Events are easily over-commercialized. Reader fees have not yet achieved the desired results. The state budget is necessary but cannot be the only support. The question is how to have enough money for the newspaper to operate, and further, can the press stand on its own value without being dependent?

Through that, Mr. Nguyen Van Ba ​​emphasized that if the press wants to survive, it must know how to "sell" more than just content. It must know how to create value beyond news from in-depth information services, events, data, brand strategy consulting, to the trust it builds. That is not only a challenge, but also a transformation in operational thinking.

Editor-in-Chief of Vietnamnet Newspaper Nguyen Van Ba ​​speaks at the discussion session

Sharing the same view, VCCorp's Deputy General Director of Strategy, Head of Growth and Strategic Partnerships Phan Dang Tra My affirmed that the newspaper advertising business cannot stand outside the flow of innovation. Newspaper revenue is drying up not because of poor content but because the value exploitation model is outdated. Meanwhile, users are tending to use 2-way communication platforms, interacting with news. At the same time, businesses have shifted their budgets to platforms that know how to measure, optimize and link more closely to the customer journey.

"If we only sell traditional PR, it will become an outdated business model that cannot grow. The press needs to update and create new forms of advertising products," Ms. Phan Dang Tra My emphasized.

To do that, Ms. Phan Dang Tra My said: "The press should not only publish, but also proactively price, position and clearly define the values ​​that the press can transform into products. In particular, the press needs to shift its focus from selling advertising - posting news to a business model that meets market needs: Providing marketing solutions and building brands through integrated communications. At the same time, the press should not only communicate according to trends but also build a sales channel for reputable products to the right target consumers of the business. The press should join forces - innovate - maintain values ​​and not go it alone. Let's create an alliance of press - brand - technology".

Sustainable income from readers

According to Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Tuoi Tre Newspaper Tran Xuan Toan, sustainable revenue for newspapers must come from reader payments. Previously, we did it with paper newspapers, so we must do the same with online newspapers and digital platforms.

VCCorp Deputy General Director of Strategy, Head of Growth and Strategic Partnerships Phan Dang Tra My shared at the discussion session

Mr. Tran Xuan Toan shared: "Currently, the trend of readers shifting to digital platforms, the number of printed newspapers sold has also decreased... but it is still a relatively large source of revenue for Tuoi Tre newspaper. Tuoi Tre's current revenue structure comes from many sources, of which, revenue from advertising and communications accounts for about 65%; followed by revenue related to financial investment, office rental, distribution and media - journalism training..."

However, to have a sustainable source of income, Mr. Tran Xuan Toan affirmed: "Content is still the deciding factor for whether readers stay or leave, from which we can exploit advertising. Regarding advertising and communication, I completely agree with the speakers who shared, we must stick to the season of the business. Currently, we have organized events associated with annual schedules and businesses have set aside budgets for content and periodic events of Tuoi Tre newspaper... We are aiming to create really good content to attract marketing budgets from businesses, instead of waiting for PR and communication budgets".

Deputy General Director of Business of Vietnam Economic Magazine - VnEconomy Nguyen Thi Ngoc Diep emphasized that the issue of press economics has never been as urgent as it is now, especially for autonomous press agencies. Therefore, innovation is very important for the press. However, innovation is not enough if the partner is only considered as a commercial partner and advertising sales partner.

View of the discussion session

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Diep, electronic newspapers are different from paper newspapers. If you want to survive, you have to work day and night, or today must be different, tomorrow must be different, today and this hour must be different from the hour before; especially in the AI ​​era. Each press agency is standing on a huge data warehouse, a huge resource warehouse that they may not know what to do with. Therefore, the newsroom must exploit saleable resources, products from data warehouses.

"We have many resources and let's sell them with all our creativity and maximize the creativity of our colleagues in the agency. Every press product is the sweat, tears, and blood of many young people, so let's cherish those creative values" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Diep said./.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/nguon-thu-trong-thoi-dai-so-bao-chi-can-ban-nhieu-hon-tin-tuc-20250620152437566.htm