VTV "complains" that many state agencies are not open in providing information.

"The fact that some ministries and localities, in many cases, are not really open in providing information also causes our commentary programs to not achieve the desired quality at many times," said the station's leader.

From the actual operation of his agency, Mr. Le Quang Minh, Deputy Head of the News Department, Vietnam Television (VTV) affirmed: "Developing commentary programs has long been a mandatory requirement in the effort to perfect the news and political information system. Commentary is a journalism genre that plays an important role in orienting public opinion".

Events & Comments is one of VTV's commentary programs that is highly appreciated by the public. Photo: Internet.

To effectively promote the commentary genre, press agencies need to build a team of journalists with strong political will, a firm grasp of the Party and State's guidelines and policies, proficient in their profession, capable of sharp commentary, sensitive to current events, and always appearing at the forefront in orienting public opinion on hot issues of social concern.

"The experience of developing VTV's journalism team has shown that these journalists must enjoy special treatment mechanisms, so that they can truly focus on their professional work. These journalists, along with their commentary articles, will also be the decisive factor in creating a newspaper's political brand. In addition, there must also be a mechanism to effectively mobilize a team of experts and researchers so that they can participate in commentary programs to provide in-depth information to the public," Mr. Le Quang Minh analyzed.

The Deputy Head of VTV's News Department especially noted: "To have timely and effective commentary programs, it is also necessary for the authorities to be proactive in providing information. To be able to comment, there must be information. Comments cannot be based on vague numbers or arguments. The fact that some ministries, branches and localities, in many cases, are not really open in providing information also causes our commentary programs to not achieve the desired quality at many times."

Sharing more about the importance and great effectiveness of ministries and branches proactively providing information to the press, Mr. Le Quang Minh cited: "Many of these agencies have been successful in proactively working with the press to guide public opinion and create consensus in society. For example, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has had very proactive information campaigns for the press when drafting the Law on Planning and the Law on Cooperatives (amended); the Ministry of Transport in approving the Long Thanh Airport Project; the Ministry of Construction in drafting the Law on Construction and the Law on Real Estate Business; the State Bank in the process of restructuring commercial banks and operating monetary policy... .

In particular, when evaluating the restructuring process of commercial banks, many opinions say that the fact that the State Bank bought back a number of weak commercial banks at zero dong without causing any collapse or massive withdrawals by the people... is a miracle. That is a valid comment showing the decisive role of proactively guiding public opinion through the press agencies."

In addition to established programs such as Today's Issues, Events & Comments, Policy Dialogue, VTV is also developing many programs to comment and explain policies in each specialized field, such as Economic Policy & Life, Integration, New Rural Areas, National Assembly with Voters, World Panorama, Labor and Employment, Technology and Life, Cultural Stories... with different forms of expression.

According to Infonet