Posting economic information in the digital age

“In the trend of social media, the information reader is also the information creator. Producing information for society is no longer the primary function of newsrooms, but information is created by anyone with an internet connection.”

Speakers discuss at the workshop. (Photo: Doan Duc/Vietnam+)

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Editor-in-Chief of Investment Newspaper (VIR), a veteran manager in the journalism industry, could not help but be impatient when evaluating the ways of transmitting information as well as modern journalism trends, at the Workshop "Posting economic information in the digital era" co-organized by the Press Department (Ministry of Information and Communications) and the Vietnam News Agency Journalists Association and Reuters News Agency, on November 6.

Mr. Tuan emphasized that digital technology along with the internet has made traditional news reporting methods obsolete. The consequence of this process is that many hundred-year-old print newspapers have had to close down or change their operating model, such as the New York Times or Newsweek Magazine. Moreover, the change in readers' access to information has not only affected countries with highly developed information technology but also in Vietnam, and has created huge challenges for any newsroom.

The above challenges require journalists in general and journalists in the economic field in particular to have new working methods to meet the increasingly high demands from readers.

Mr. Martin Petty, Bureau Chief of Reuters News Agency in Vietnam, shared that Vietnam's economy is growing rapidly but also facing many different challenges. In addition, Vietnam is currently participating in many free trade agreements and attracting more and more foreign investors to Vietnam.

The problem is how to write news and articles that are complete, without distorting the truth, while ensuring the timeliness of the article. Because the bottom line is that investors always want their information to reach the public very quickly but must ensure accuracy, this is an extremely important factor.

“If reporters provide incorrect information, it will obviously cause trouble for many investors, the market and society. I think this is not only the responsibility of reporters, but also of policy makers, business executives… who must be responsible for providing the fastest and most accurate information so that reporters can quickly inform readers,” said Mr. Martin Petty.

Another topic of particular interest to speakers was how to bring economic information to young people.

Mr. Trinh Ba Duong, Director of Lifetivi Channel, pointed out that currently, most young people and entrepreneurs are not satisfied with the economic news from the mainstream press. According to Mr. Duong, currently, domestic press has not produced many international news articles and is mainly still translated. In addition, domestic economic news is exploited quite passively, the source of information is often provided instead of reporters approaching, researching and exploiting independently.

Regarding the way to convey economic information, delegates generally agreed that, in addition to the need for speed, each article now needs to be concise, condensed... and presented in many different formats.

“In addition, journalists need both writing skills and the use of technological tools to reach the right readers, reach and engage readers,” Mr. Duong said./.

According to vietnamplus