Former Deputy Minister Do Quy Doan: "The press management agency works very... well"

“The governing body has been working very coquettishly for a long time, which sounds very grand but in the end, it takes no responsibility, just like an ‘orangutan holding a pipe’,” said Mr. Do Quy Doan, former Deputy Minister of Information and Communications.

The roles and responsibilities of the governing bodies of press agencies were once again discussed at the Expert Consultation Conference on the draft Press Law recently held in Hanoi.

Mr. Do Quy Doan, former Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, frankly stated: “The governing body has been very coy for a long time, it sounds very grand but in the end it does not take any responsibility, it is just like “an orangutan holding a tube”. When there are violations, journalists and reporters must take primary responsibility, while the editor-in-chief and the governing body only take joint responsibility when punished.”

“We must return to Decree 282 of 1956, which clearly stipulates that in all cases of violation, the editor-in-chief (ie the managing director) and the editor-in-chief must bear primary responsibility, and the writer must be jointly responsible. We need to absorb and incorporate this spirit into the draft of the new Press Law,” Mr. Do Quy Doan proposed.

Mr. Do Quy Doan, former Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, spoke at the Expert Consultation Conference on the Press Law project on the morning of July 10 in Hanoi. Photo: BM

According to Mr. Do Quy Doan, the governing body must appoint a person to take specific responsibility if there are problems that need to be handled. It could be the head of the governing body or a person authorized by the governing body. If only general responsibility is taken, then in the end no one will take responsibility. For example, the governing body has 5 leaders, when there is a problem, how can all 5 leaders be punished(?).

Sharing the above viewpoint, Professor Tran Thi Tam Dan, former Head of the Committee for Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescents and Children, analyzed: “Currently, the State does not censor the press, so the responsibility to check and ensure the correctness of information content in the press is of course the responsibility of the press agency's management agency. The draft Press Law stipulates that the editor-in-chief, deputy editor-in-chief, and journalists must be responsible for the content of information. However, the responsibility of the head of the press agency and the management agency has not been specifically stipulated in the draft.

Most of the problems that have existed in the press in recent times are not due to shortcomings in the law but are caused by shortcomings in the management of both the governing body and the press agency, not just the State management agency of the press. It is necessary to study more carefully the regulations on the responsibility of the head and the governing body for the content of information in the press.

“Some people say that the head and the governing body have a lot of work to do and it is difficult for them to be responsible for all the information published in the press. However, this argument is not convincing.

The governing bodies only ask to publish the newspaper, then assign it to the editor-in-chief, which is not right. The reason why the governing bodies are created is to represent the State in inspecting and controlling the content. In reality, the governing bodies are very ineffective in this regard.

"Any governing body that wants to establish a newspaper must find someone with professional expertise to manage and direct it. It is best to choose a leader with journalistic qualifications and understanding of the benefits of journalism to direct the organization well. A leader who only directs and leads without taking responsibility when problems arise is not recommended," Professor Tran Thi Tam Dan further recommended.

According to Infonet