Journalism and the era of national growth
The vision and messages of General Secretary To Lam are inspiring strong development to all levels, all sectors, every party member, voter and people nationwide. The press needs to take the lead, be creative, guide public opinion, do a good job of ideological work, and create a favorable environment for the country to grow.
Associate Professor, Dr. Do Chi Nghia
(Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education)
Publication date: November 8, 2024
The vision and messages of General Secretary To Lam are inspiring strong development to all levels, all sectors, every party member, voter and people nationwide. The press needs to take the lead, be creative, guide public opinion, do a good job of ideological work, and create a favorable environment for the country to grow.
In just over a year, the 14th National Party Congress will take place. Major orientations in the vision for national development have been and are being shaped in documents prepared for the Congress. In particular, the articles and speeches of General Secretary To Lam - the highest leader of the Party, have clearly pointed out the basic ideas on the path forward. The destination is that the country enters a new era, the era of the Vietnamese people's rise. The aspiration for a strong nation, a civilized society, a prosperous and happy people, with a vision towards the 100th anniversary of the Party's founding and the 100th anniversary of the country's founding is gradually coming into being.
However, as the General Secretary has pointed out, to achieve that goal, we must make efforts to overcome bottlenecks and streamline the apparatus in a practical, effective and efficient manner. We must step up the fight against waste in addition to fighting corruption and negativity, creating truly strong and synchronous changes...
The press, with its mission of being a vanguard on the ideological front, must also rise up in the era of national rise. The baggage of revolutionary press is its rich history, its attachment to the people, and its devotion to the country.Party and Statealways respects the role of the press, pays attention to directing and promoting the press to do its job well. But standing on the practical land of Vietnam, the press must be creative, bold, and strongly innovate to meet the public's trust. No one can replace journalists in their own efforts when facing the flow of information every day. Who to write for, what to write, what to write for are the questions that urge every journalist when life is moving very fast, the public's need for information is increasing, and the competition for information is increasingly fierce.
The power of journalism is to tell the truth. Identifying the true nature of a problem is the talent of a journalist. Expressing that truth in the most convincing and timely way is the task that the press must carry out. Journalism always needs journalists with strong fortitude, clear political responsibility, and wholeheartedly for the benefit of the country and the people. But the individual talent of a journalist plays a very important role. A journalist with a vision, a unique identity, and an attractive charm, winning the trust of the public is always a great asset of the agency. One must work hard, suffer, grasp the problem firmly, think deeply, worry about each message, and be careful with every detail. Journalist Huu Tho once pointed out that journalism is 1% talent, and 99% personal effort, but without that 1%, it is impossible to become a professional. Respecting talent and qualities in journalism, promoting training,journalismIt's never easy, but it's never less exciting.
The economic problem of journalism is a big challenge. Social media platforms have taken away more than 50% of traditional press revenue. Print newspaper circulation has dropped sharply, and advertising on radio, television, and even online newspapers is no longer what it used to be. The lack of revenue makes investment and development much more difficult, while the need for technological innovation is urgent.
More than ever, the press must rise up, renew itself, and keep up with the flow of life and the times. We cannot let time lag behind, and we cannot expect the public to wait for late news or monotonous articles like reports. We must have unique products, fast and timely information that reaches the hearts of the public.
Journalists are happy because they are always cared for by the Party and the State, encouraged and recognized by the public. President Ho Chi Minh wrote thousands of articles, and was directly the editor-in-chief of the French-language newspaper "The Miserable" and the newspaper "Thanh Nien" published in Guangxi (China) to propagate the revolution. In the midst of the busyness of the head of the Party and the country, Uncle Ho still maintained the column "Speak and Listen" in the People's newspaper. When the leader of the nation directly held a pen to write articles, and dialogued with readers in the Party newspaper, the flow of life seemed to be more closely connected between the Party and the people, sharing the common cause.
General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh, with his column “Things to do immediately”, defined a leadership style of “Speaking and doing” as he explained the famous pen name NVL in the early days of renovation. How many worries, concerns, how many obstacles need to be resolved, how many barriers need to be removed. The leader of our Party expressed them in short articles on the front page of Nhan Dan newspaper. That message resonated with the press through articles “Responding to things to do immediately”. The strong, decisive changes of the renovation process have an irreplaceable role for the press in the renovation period.
In the era of national development, the press must live in the breath of the nation, connected with every thought and concern of the people. Vietnamese culture is a great resource, a priceless asset that must be preserved. Technology is innovative and modern, but Vietnamese qualities and Vietnamese identity must be imbued in every article, every page of the newspaper, every daily and hourly press product published.
The press in the new era must have a new vision. The world is changing unpredictably. The guiding principle is to do what is beneficial to the country, and avoid what is harmful to the country. Carefully consider the pros and cons, sharpen your thinking and promote more appropriate channels of communication. The press can only be vital when it can convince the public. Resolutely fight against bad and toxic information, stop hostile arguments, and encourage the spirit of innovation. The press in the new era must be the mainstream, building more trust and vitality to move forward.
Innovation is not easy. Not only is it difficult for press agencies that are heavily staffed and heavily administrative to manage the flow of information, but also the transformation and the will to improve internally will be difficult. Choose the right person to lead the charge for the right job and at the right level. Remove mechanisms for press development, clear ordering mechanisms, reasonable unit prices, and clear norms for effective implementation. In particular, it is necessary to have the attention and facilitation of directing and managing agencies in providing and orienting information so that the press can promote its leading and pioneering role on the ideological front as the Party has set out.
The press in the new era must integrate strongly. In today's flat world, the power of the media often does not lie in having a lot of money but in ideas and creativity. With a firm grasp of technology, reasonable and solid investment, training and employing talented people, the press will be able to rise up with the rise of the nation. Moreover, the press must be a pioneer, go ahead, and take the initiative in the battle as the core value ofrevolutionary pressalways show
Major changes are taking place on a global scale. The country is facing a historic opportunity to break through and rise up. Fight corruption, waste, negativity, innovate the political system in a practical, streamlined, effective and efficient direction. Remove three bottlenecks, create three breakthroughs in institutions, infrastructure and human resources... The tasks are urgent and difficult, but if you want to develop, you cannot help but do it. The vision and messages of General Secretary To Lam are inspiring strong development to all levels, all sectors, each party member, voter and people nationwide. The press needs to take the lead, be creative, orient public opinion, do a good job of ideological work, and create a favorable environment for the country to rise up. Each press agency and each journalist must also rise up, make greater efforts, strive more, and improve their professional qualities and abilities to better contribute to the revolutionary cause of the nation. Only by doing that can the press be worthy of the tradition of revolutionary journalism, maintain its core values and truly be a vanguard on the path of national development in the new era opening up before our eyes!