The Vietnam News Agency's booth at the 2022 National Press Festival always attracts a large number of delegates and readers. Photo: An Dang/VNA
Attack on the information front in wartime
The history of the Vietnamese Revolutionary Press is closely linked to the event of June 21, 1925, when Leader Nguyen Ai Quoc founded Thanh Nien Newspaper - the first newspaper to propagate revolutionary ideals along the proletarian line. From that historical milestone, the Vietnamese revolutionary press has formed a special stream: always closely associated with the cause of fighting for national independence, building and defending the Fatherland.
VNA was born in special circumstances. On September 15, 1945, just 13 days after President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence, VNA (at that time Vietnam News Agency) broadcast the full text of the historic Declaration of Independence in three languages: Vietnamese, French, and English, announcing the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the list of the provisional government. This was VNA's first news bulletin, marking an important event: Vietnam officially had a state news agency, carrying out the mission of transmitting the voice of the nation. From that moment on, VNA was not only a press organization, but also a strategic information agency, accompanying the country in every historical turning point.
On December 19, 1946, VNA broadcast to the whole country and the world the news that the French colonialists had broken their promise and re-invaded Vietnam, along with President Ho Chi Minh's call for national resistance. After that, during the 9 years of resistance against the French colonialists, VNA overcame countless difficulties and hardships by moving locations 21 times to avoid enemy searches and detection, ensuring information to serve the Party and Uncle Ho. The Dien Bien Phu victory in 1954 was a brilliant milestone of the Vietnamese revolution, and the news that French General De Castries and the entire command of the Dien Bien Phu stronghold were captured alive, broadcast by VNA on May 7, 8 and 9, 1954, shocked public opinion in the country and the world.
The Liberation News Agency (now VNA) telegraph team sent telegrams from the front to the base during the resistance war against the US to save the country. Photo: VNA archive
During the resistance war against the US, to save the country and build socialism in the North, VNA did not miss any important domestic and international events, even when the war was at its fiercest. VNA reporters were present in the hottest and most arduous areas to record the heroic and courageous fighting images of our army and people. There was no battlefield, no direction of attack, no fighting area where VNA reporters were absent. Many photos and news reports of VNA have become historical witnesses.
Not only “staying close to the battlefield”, VNA reporters also “staying close to the people”. The reporters delved into the lives of the people in the liberated areas, into each resistance village. Short but emotional news reports, black and white photos depicting the faces of evacuated children, old men working as laborers, students learning to read in shelters… touched people’s hearts, acting as both vivid historical documents and sharp spiritual weapons to encourage the entire people to fight and win.
VNA was also the main unit providing information about the two delegations of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam in their diplomatic struggle with the delegation of the US and the Saigon puppet regime at the Paris Conference on Vietnam; thereby, effectively serving the negotiation work, at the same time creating public sympathy domestically and internationally, together with the people of the whole country to create the historic victory of Spring 1975.
Reporter of Liberation News Agency (now VNA) during the anti-sweep operation in Junction City (1967). Photo: VNA archive
On April 30, 1975, VNA was honored and proud to broadcast historical news and photos about the great victory of the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising, which brought the country together and opened a new era, an era of independence, freedom, unification and the building of socialism throughout the country.
Contributing to that victory, nearly 260 cadres, reporters and staff of VNA heroically sacrificed their lives; many left parts of their bodies on the battlefield and many suffered from illnesses caused by exposure to toxic chemicals. This is a significant number for a press agency, demonstrating the fierceness of the war and the dedication of revolutionary journalists in the cause of national liberation and reunification.
The contributions of VNA during the war helped build a "model battlefield journalism" that was both courageous and humane, rich in epic qualities, and close to the breath of people's lives.
Strong transformation in the flow of innovation
The prominent News Agency Building - the common home of generations of news agencies. Photo: Pham Tuan Anh/VNA
After the country was completely reunified, VNA quickly transformed itself to meet the new requirements of the peaceful period. There were no more bombs and bullets, but the information front was still hot and complicated in the context of the country starting the process of innovation and international integration.
Right from the first years after 1975, VNA focused on rebuilding its organizational structure, expanding its network of domestic and international correspondents, and converting its working methods from manual to modern... Each news line not only truthfully reflected the people's lives and the country's reconstruction, but also contributed to affirming Vietnam's position, sovereignty and image in the international arena.
Since the 6th National Party Congress (1986), when the reform process was initiated, VNA has become a major force in official information, providing reliable information for the Party, the State, and domestic and foreign press agencies. VNA's news bulletins, analysis, press photos, special features, and videos are not only spread through traditional channels but also widely shared on platforms, contributing to orienting public opinion and refuting false information.
Currently, VNA "is the national news agency, the main multimedia media agency, performing the function of publishing and broadcasting information and official documents of the Party and the State; providing information to serve the leadership requirements of the Party and the management of the State; disseminating information to serve the mass media agencies, the public and other subjects at home and abroad; announcing the official views of the State on current issues; correcting information that is not in line with national interests; refuting and correcting false information; when necessary, issuing statements to refute information with the intention of distorting". (1)
VNA is the press agency with the most products and types of information in the country, with over 60 press products in various media forms. VNA is a press agency with a force of reporters working across the country and in most key locations in the world, with a system of 63 permanent offices in provinces and cities and 30 permanent offices abroad located in all 5 continents. Wherever there is an information distribution channel, there is news agency information.
Source information units and press and publishing units of VNA always strive to strongly innovate information content and form, apply many new types of information, and diversify the methods of information presentation. Photo: VNA
With a team of reporters and editors who always closely follow the realities of socio-economic life, VNA is present everywhere: from urban areas to remote villages; from international conferences to hot spots of natural disasters and epidemics... The image of a multi-functional news reporter has become familiar to colleagues, especially overseas correspondents.
In particular, with the key role of a multimedia press agency, VNA continues to develop in the direction of ensuring the orientation of information, being a strategic information channel, creating consensus in society to successfully implement the policies of the Party and State; promptly combating and refuting false and hostile arguments. For key information channels, VNA opens event streams, creating information highlights on media platforms; builds and upgrades specialized pages integrating various types of information such as the news pages https://daihoidang.vn ; https://baucuquochoi.vn ; updates information on the pages https://nvsk.vnanet.vn ; https://chinhsachcuocsong.vnanet ; strengthens information on protecting the Party's ideological foundation on the specialized page https://happyvietnam.vnanet.vn .
Not only providing information in Vietnamese, VNA is one of the press agencies promoting international communication in many languages (English, Chinese, French, Spanish and Russian). Through that, the image of a peaceful, innovative and integrated Vietnam is widely promoted around the world.
VNA is also the largest national photo archive with one million valuable documentary films, including tens of thousands of original films about the history of the nation's revolutionary struggle, more than 5,000 films about President Ho Chi Minh and thousands of films about the community of 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups. This archive has become a valuable asset, playing an important role in preserving historical memories and educating the revolutionary tradition for the younger generation.
Maintain the role of the national news agency
Transforming into the digital age, VNA has taken the lead in applying modern communication technology, deploying a converged newsroom, developing multimedia platforms to meet new media trends, ensuring service to all audiences.
Since 1998, when Vietnam first connected to the global internet, VNA was one of the earliest press agencies to have electronic information pages in the country. In 2017, VNA launched the information page infographics.vn, leading the trend of data journalism in Vietnam. VNA has also launched many new information products; gradually tested and applied artificial intelligence in the production process such as reading multilingual news, hosting some news programs... and has brought about practical results.
Regarding technical infrastructure, VNA's information processing system has shifted from creating "modules" for each type of press to a multimedia, multi-platform model, enhancing connectivity between information products. Content linking and cross-promotion have expanded information coverage, helping to increase the propaganda effectiveness of news agency information. Persistently digitizing information and documents has also helped VNA form a rich, multi-type digital database. This is the foundation for VNA to develop multimedia press products, exploiting the added value of data journalism.
VNA uses digital platforms as an effective content distribution channel to widely disseminate information to users globally. Photo: VNA
Breaking news products appear with increasing frequency in world news. Press products with modern presentation such as megastory, longform or interactive graphics are the integration of information types on the same platform, helping to bring rich experiences to users. On the VNA portal, text, photo and video information types have also been integrated together to increase the convenience when exploiting information; developing a centralized multimedia operation system according to the convergence model to ensure the necessary factors for producing many types of products on different media platforms.
At the 100th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press, VNA celebrates its 80th anniversary, with new responsibilities for a new era. The year marks the country's historical milestones: the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution, National Day September 2, Congresses at all levels towards the 14th National Congress of the Party... VNA, as the key multimedia media agency, the key national foreign press agency, will continue to convey messages about the country's efforts and achievements after nearly 40 years of renovation; demonstrating the role of revolutionary journalism in the cause of national construction and development.
With a long tradition, strong political will and a desire for innovation, Vietnam News Agency continues to affirm its role as the official information flow, a pillar in the national press system, ready to join the country in entering a new era - the era of national growth.
(1) Decree No. 27/2025/ND-CP dated February 24, 2025 of the Government: Stipulating the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of Vietnam News Agency
Minh Duyen (Vietnam News Agency)
Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/ttxvn-gop-phan-viet-nen-trang-su-ve-vang-cua-nen-bao-chi-cach-mang-viet-nam-20250605084654704.htm
![[Photo] Nearly 104,000 candidates in Hanoi complete procedures to take the 10th grade entrance exam](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/6/7/7dbf58fd77224eb583ea5c819ebf5a4e)
![[OCOP REVIEW] Tu Duyen Syrup - The essence of herbs from the mountains and forests of Nhu Thanh](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/402x226/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/6/5/58ca32fce4ec44039e444fbfae7e75ec)
Comment (0)