The Ministry of Information and Communications will work together to remove obstacles in the press economy.

Implementing the Project "Developing Vietnamese journalism in the period 2020-2024", on February 24, the Ministry of Information and Communications coordinated with the People's Committee of Binh Dinh province to organize the 2023 Press Economic Forum.

Chairman of the People's Committee of Binh Dinh Province Pham Anh Tuan said that the press is currently facing financial difficulties. "Newspaper and television agencies in Binh Dinh have switched to the ordering economy. The State still ensures the budget for ordering and supporting press agencies. In addition, press agencies can sign contracts with units in need of communication. This year, Binh Dinh Province also set aside money to order press agencies," said Mr. Pham Anh Tuan.

Chairman of Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan.

Mr. Pham Anh Tuan stated that press agencies must have established norms and unit prices that have been agreed upon by the governing body and relevant agencies. This is a minimum and mandatory condition.

“Currently, local authorities are increasingly interested in placing orders. Local departments and districts have funds for communication. So, the important thing is to arrange the available budget,” Mr. Tuan shared.

Digital transformation in journalism

Deputy Head of People's Electronic Department (People's Newspaper) Ngo Viet Anh said that the press has many difficulties in increasing revenue.

“The press is having difficulty competing with social media, lacking a mechanism to order press, and copyright infringement. Along with that, the press is having difficulty in digital transformation, and its business strategy is not suitable,” said Mr. Ngo Viet Anh.

Deputy Head of People's Electronic Department (People's Newspaper) Ngo Viet Anh spoke at the forum.

According to Mr. Ngo Viet Anh, in Vietnam today, many agencies do not clearly distinguish between propaganda and policy communication. This is a huge source of revenue for press agencies, even an important source of revenue. Currently, press agencies are interested but not enough.

Mr. Ngo Viet Anh gave a typical ordering model in Korea that can be referenced. “They have a national press fund, a government agency, that collects all orders from state agencies. They evaluate the orders from those agencies to be suitable for which press unit and then carry them out like a bidding process,” Mr. Ngo Viet Anh shared.

According to Mr. Ngo Viet Anh, after the product is released, they will evaluate and put the press agencies into groups A, B... then let the ministries and branches choose.

The Deputy Head of the People's Electronic Department acknowledged that digital transformation within the press agency is facing many problems. Digital transformation on social networks has not been focused on by press agencies, some newspapers believe that it is a distribution channel and have not focused on this environment.

Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department Tran Thanh Lam said that the Party and State care about, support and help the press. "The Ministry of Information and Communications is reviewing decrees and documents related to issues related to the press economy," said Mr. Tran Thanh Lam.

Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department Tran Thanh Lam.

According to Mr. Lam, the opinions at the forum should be sent to all other press agencies that did not attend. Along with that, there should be separate training sessions for those who work on financial methods and procedures for newspapers. Press agencies need to have a deputy editor-in-chief and deputy general director in charge of finance and management, not necessarily content.

"The economy of journalism is a daily concern"

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam said that journalism economics is a daily concern, but there are not many forums in the media talking about journalism economics.

“This forum is held at a time when the world's largest social networking platforms, which earn the most advertising revenue, are now facing a downward trend and are laying off a large number of employees. According to the share, at the end of 2022, advertising revenue of press agencies decreased almost vertically. By the beginning of 2023, there were still no signs of recovery,” said Mr. Nguyen Thanh Lam.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam.

Mr. Lam shared that although other resources have received attention from the Party and the State, many agencies are still confused in resolving them. According to the Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, this is also part of the responsibility of the management agencies in resolving the current policy mechanisms that are not timely.

Problems such as taxes, orders, etc. will be compiled by the ministry and reported to the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education.

“In the coming time, when the Prime Minister signs a directive on strengthening policy communication, localities will allocate resources for policy communication, including ordering press and grassroots media. This year, there will definitely be results,” said Mr. Lam.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam said that every month, the ministry will hold press conferences. Those meetings will invite relevant ministries and sectors to work together to resolve difficulties in the press economy.