New regulations on providing information to the press
(Baonghean) - In order to comply with the new regulations of the Central Government, to meet the increasing demand of the people for timely and accurate information as well as to serve state agencies in socio-economic development, on December 4, 2013, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 62/2013/QD.UBND regulating "Speaking, providing, posting, broadcasting and handling information in the press in Nghe An province" (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 62).
Compared with Decision No. 99, Decision No. 62 has the following new points:
First: Regulations on spokespersons and providing information to the press: In Decision No. 99, regulations on spokespersons are stipulated in 1 clause in Article 3 (on providing information to the press) and the standards are also generally stipulated, therefore, in the past, some units and localities have appointed spokespersons that have not met the regulations, most of them have appointed office leaders as spokespersons, thus somewhat limiting the effectiveness of speaking and providing information to the press due to lack of authority, insufficient information to provide, or knowing but not having the right to take the initiative, having to ask for the opinion of the head, so the role of the spokesperson has not been promoted. In Decision No. 62, regulations on spokespersons are stipulated in a separate article (Article 1), in which the spokesperson is specifically defined: at the department level is the director (or deputy director), at the district level is the chairman (or vice chairman). In particular, this regulation also stipulates the spokesperson down to the commune level (as chairman or vice chairman). Thus, in the province, there are also thousands of people assigned to speak and provide information to the press. The full name, address, and phone number of the spokesperson are required to be fully provided to the press, and also posted on the electronic information portal of the province and units and localities, creating the best conditions for the press to access and exploit information when necessary.
Second: Regulations on providing information to the press: For the Provincial People's Committee, Decision No. 62 stipulates that the Provincial People's Committee provides information on the province's electronic information portal through regular, timely and accurate posting of activities and direction and administration of the Provincial People's Committee and press conferences every 3 months, in addition, there may be some extraordinary meetings when necessary. Such regulations aim to promptly provide information to the press; on the other hand, through press conferences, the Provincial People's Committee, departments, branches, and localities grasp more useful information from press reflections, helping the Provincial People's Committee to operate and manage the socio-economy more promptly and effectively. For departments, branches, and district-level People's Committees, Decision 62 also clearly stipulates that they must provide timely information on their units' electronic information portals and organize press conferences when requested by the Provincial People's Committee or when deemed necessary; Commune-level People's Committees provide information to the press in extraordinary or unusual cases.
Third: Regulations on publishing information in the press: Decision 62 stipulates more clearly the responsibilities of press agencies and journalists: Publish and broadcast the correct content of statements and information provided by the spokesperson, and must clearly state the full name of the spokesperson and the name of the spokesperson's state administrative agency. Regarding apologies and corrections: Compared to Decision 99, Decision 62 stipulates more clearly: When there is a written conclusion from a competent state agency on the content of information in the press that is untrue, distorted, slanderous, or insulting to the reputation of an organization or the honor and dignity of an individual, the press agency must publish the original text of that conclusion, and at the same time make corrections and apologies according to the law. The editor-in-chief and director of the press agency are responsible for apologizing, correcting, and correcting inaccurate information in the press.
Fourth: Regulations on handling information in the press: Compared with Decision No. 99, Decision No. 62 has a new point that the Department of Information and Communications has the right to request the heads of agencies and localities to inspect, verify, clarify the matter and respond in writing to issues that have been published in the press (in sudden or unusual cases). Regarding the deadline for reporting and responding to issues raised in the press, Decision 62 has a new regulation that if agencies and localities have organized inspections and verifications of issues raised in the press but have not yet had results (due to the issue having many complicated details), they must report clearly stating the reasons, solutions, and implementation deadlines to the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Information and Communications, and at the same time send them to the press agency that published and broadcasted the information. Regarding written responses to issues raised by press agencies and localities, Decision No. 62 has newer and more specific regulations, which are: The content of the response must be specific and clear, clearly stating which information is correct and which information is incorrect (with accompanying basis), accepted opinions or requests for the press to correct...
In addition, a number of other regulations have also been redesigned to be more appropriate and clearer, in order to facilitate organizations and individuals when accessing documents to quickly, correctly and fully understand the contents, creating favorable conditions for documents to enter life in the fastest and most effective way.
Nguyen Ba Hao(Department of Information and Communications)
