Conclusion of the Secretariat on the consolidation of the Central Party Committees' magazines

On December 29, 2017, Politburo member and Standing member of the Secretariat Tran Quoc Vuong, on behalf of the Central Party Secretariat, signed and issued Conclusion No. 26-KL/TW on improving the quality and effectiveness of the current Central Party Committees' magazines. The following is the full text of the conclusion.

1- In recent years, the Central Party Committees' Magazine has affirmed its position and role as the mouthpiece of the Central Party Committees; contributing to the propaganda, dissemination and protection of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh's thought, the Party's guidelines and policies, and the State's policies and laws; having practical effects in providing information, guidance, exchange, training and improving the professional qualifications of cadres and Party members doing Party work from the Central to the grassroots levels.

However, the Central Party Committees' magazines still have limitations, the content and form are not really attractive, not meeting the increasing requirements in providing and orienting information for the team of people doing party work and cadres and party members. The number of magazines issued is still low; the reading and effective use of magazines is not high. The reasons for the above limitations are that the model and operation method of the Central Party Committees' magazines have not kept up with the development of modern journalism; the organization of the apparatus, cadre work, and financial mechanism are still inadequate; the mettle, professional capacity, and expertise of a number of cadres, reporters, and editors are still limited.

2- To meet the requirements of innovation and development trends of the press, especially the development of the Internet and social networks; to continue to improve the quality and effectiveness of the Central Party Committees' magazines, and to overcome the above-mentioned limitations, the Secretariat requests:

2.1- Innovate and improve the organization and operation of the Central Party Committees' magazines in a streamlined and modern direction, in line with the development trend of domestic and international press. The Central Party Committees' magazines need to pay special attention to innovating and improving the quality of content and form, enhancing combativeness, persuasiveness and predictability; focus on applying communication skills and expertise, knowledge of Party building work to effectively implement the principles and purposes, maintain its own characteristics, attract readers, and value the effectiveness of the magazine.

2.2- To improve the quality and effectiveness of the Central Party Committees' magazines, it is necessary to thoroughly grasp and strictly implement the Party's resolutions, directives and conclusions on streamlining the payroll and restructuring the staff, civil servants and public employees; on innovating and arranging the organization and apparatus of public service units; on continuing to innovate and arrange the organization and apparatus of the political system to be streamlined and operate effectively and efficiently.

From now until 2020, focus on reviewing the planning of magazines for Central Party committees in the direction of streamlining the focal points, innovating the organization and operation methods; each Central Party committee has no more than 1 printed magazine; encourage magazines to have electronic versions and gradually switch from printed magazines to electronic magazines.

Unify the model and organizational structure of the Central Party Committee's magazines; do not increase the number of staff, in accordance with the specific conditions of each committee. The magazines operate as public service units, have legal status, their own seals, and move towards independent accounting. In the short term, in addition to regular expenses, the magazines are provided with funding for publishing activities and royalties. In the long term, implement the principle of revenue to cover expenditure, autonomy, and financial self-responsibility, in line with the general trend of press agencies nationwide.

From 2020 onwards, based on and taking the Communist Party of Vietnam Electronic Newspaper and the Central Propaganda Department as the core, the magazines of the Central Party Committees will be merged to build a centralized, multimedia press agency, meeting the information, propaganda and professional and technical guidance requirements of the Party Committees.

2.3- The Central Party Committees take the lead in perfecting the organizational structure, arranging magazines in conjunction with the innovation of the organizational structure of each Central Party Committee, meeting the requirements and tasks in the new situation.

The Central Party Office presides over and coordinates with agencies to develop financial mechanisms for Central Party journals in accordance with general regulations and requirements for innovation and development.

The Central Propaganda Department shall coordinate with the Central Party Committees to implement this Conclusion./.