Amending the Press Law: Promoting the effectiveness of the press in the new era

The draft Law on Press (amended) is being consulted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism with many important adjustments.

Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thanh Hoa province Le Van Nam affirmed that the Draft Law on Press (amended) reflects the acceptance and updating of new trends in press activities, especially in the context of digital transformation, social networks and the development of multimedia press. Amending and supplementing the 2016 Law on Press to suit reality in order to create a favorable legal corridor for press operations and development is necessary. This will create a favorable legal corridor for press operations and development, while overcoming existing shortcomings and inadequacies.

According to Mr. Le Van Nam, the Draft Law on Press (amended) has clearly distinguished between press agencies and magazines. However, there needs to be a clear classification of the characteristics of each type of magazine, especially scientific magazines of research institutes, universities, hospitals, etc., as well as the role of those magazines in scientific communication to help state management agencies monitor and manage more closely. From there, consider and weigh the granting of press cards for the activities of these magazines or adjust and limit the scope of operations in accordance with the functions and tasks of the magazines.

The draft Law on Press (amended) should have provisions on issuing separate license forms for scientific journals as well as adding specific regulations on which types of newspapers and journals are allowed to open representative offices and send resident reporters to localities. From there, there will be regulations on the number of reporters of representative offices, especially local journals, to avoid the situation where the Head of the Office recruits reporters and staff to do press economics, sign contracts for propaganda and advertising, etc.

The draft needs to stipulate and decentralize the responsibilities of local management agencies for press activities, specifically, the granting and termination of representative offices and resident reporters in the locality.

Commenting on the Draft Law on Press (amended), journalist Trinh Duy Hoang, former Head of the Vietnam News Agency's Thanh Hoa Bureau, said that this is an important document to update and perfect the legal framework for press activities in the context of digital technology development and international integration in Vietnam. The draft has added "content channels of press agencies on cyberspace," "press publishing on cyberspace," and "social networks" to the concepts of press and press products. This amendment is appropriate and helps to supplement regulations on press activities on cyberspace - which are contents that the 2016 Press Law has not mentioned.

Mr. Trinh Duy Hoang is interested in the content of licensing press activities. Currently, the number of press agencies in the country is relatively large with nearly 900 agencies and units, in which, the regulations on the principles and purposes of many press agencies are still qualitative or not specific, leading to difficulties in management.

Reality shows that some newspapers and magazines have not operated according to their principles and purposes, and have reported news that is not objective, self-serving, or even misleading, negatively affecting the press in general. At the same time, there are still journalists who violate the Press Law and the professional ethics of journalists.

Therefore, Mr. Trinh Duy Hoang suggested that the Press Law (amended) should consider more clearly defining the principles and purposes of press agencies in general and magazines in particular. In particular, it is necessary to study and more specifically define the principles and purposes of press agencies so that they are suitable to the functions and fields of the press agencies and units./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/sua-doi-luat-bao-chi-phat-huy-hieu-qua-bao-chi-trong-thoi-dai-moi-post1037585.vnp