Vietnamese press - opportunities and challenges in the digital age

While many Western countries have quickly adapted, even turning digital transformation into a growth opportunity, newspapers in many developing countries, including Vietnam, are still "sitting" between "budget subsidies" and the risk of being left behind.

During the 2020-2024 period, some newspaper markets have begun to integrate digital strategies, such as using QR codes, interactive content and collaborating with online platforms, to attract new advertising and readers.

The successful transformation of Western journalism

After the 2008 financial crisis caused a sharp decline in advertising, many Western newspapers such as The New York Times, The Guardian or Financial Times were forced to seek new business models to survive and grow.

Today, The New York Times has shifted its focus from advertising to readers, with more than 10 million paid subscribers (2024 figures), accounting for more than 67% of total revenue. Le Monde (France) now has more than 580,000 digital subscribers, more than doubling in just 5 years, thanks to a strategy focused on original content, investigative reporting and user experience.

One of the key success factors is data and personalization of the experience through the application of data technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze reader behavior. The Financial Times invested in the “Lantern” system - a real-time user behavior analysis platform that helps them decide the best time to recommend subscription packages. From 2017 to 2022, the Financial Times's subscription retention rate reached 78% - a dream number for digital journalism.

Meanwhile, The Guardian uses technology to suggest content based on reader behavior to retain users, while maintaining a “free - voluntary contribution” model with more than 1.5 million regular donors.

Western newspapers focus on developing multi-platform products to expand their influence. This activity not only digitizes the publishing process, but also diversifies formats: Podcasts, email newsletters, YouTube videos , specialized mobile applications, and even deploys AR/VR interactive models in journalistic storytelling (The Washington Post is a typical example). According to a 2023 Reuters Institute survey, 42% of readers in the UK and US access news via podcasts at least once a week, and more than 35% of young readers (18-35 years old) prefer short videos or email newsletters over written newspapers.

Editorial autonomy and financial transparency are important aspects. Unlike public newspapers in many countries, large European and American newsrooms operate as autonomous media enterprises. They are financially transparent and compete fiercely on quality and speed. Newspapers such as Die Zeit (Germany), El País (Spain), or Aftenposten (Norway) are not only information organizations but also act as policy analysts, counterweights to the government and voices of society and the masses.

Vietnamese press and obstacles in the digital revolution

Vietnamese journalism has made progress in applying digital technology in recent years, but digital transformation in the journalism industry still faces many challenges. Major newsrooms such as Tuoi Tre, Thanh Nien, and VnExpress are making efforts to transform, but the speed and effectiveness are uneven. According to a survey by the Institute of Journalism and Communication Studies (2022), only 12% of journalists in Vietnam said that their newsrooms have a “clear digital transformation strategy”.

Vietnam currently has more than 77 million internet users, accounting for 79% of the population, and about 68 million social media users. Meanwhile, most press agencies still do not have a clear strategy for content digitization. According to data from the Ministry of Information and Communications (now the Ministry of Science and Technology), by 2023, only 35% of press agencies will have built a reader data analysis system; less than 20% have a strategy for producing specialized content for mobile platforms, showing that the digital infrastructure is still slow.

More than 90% of press agencies in Vietnam are currently public service units, in which the majority of the budget comes from state support. This creates three major consequences: First, there is a lack of motivation for innovation because there is no need to compete financially, many press agencies have not invested in digital teams, data or product innovation. Second, there is a limitation on editorial autonomy: Revenue depends on the budget, making the production of investigative and critical content still cautious. And the third limitation is waste and overlapping content: Dozens of newspapers exploit the same event, increasing social costs and reducing the independent value of the press.

The rise of social media is a trend that is eroding the centrality of mainstream journalism. With its personalization and fast-spreading capabilities, TikTok and Facebook are now the main sources of news for Vietnamese people under 30 years old. Statistics from Google in 2023 showed that more than 68% of online newspaper readings in Vietnam came from intermediary platforms (Google, Facebook), instead of directly accessing the newspaper page. This causes newspapers to lose both readers and data - the most valuable assets in the digital economy.

Proposing digital transformation strategy for Vietnamese press

Vietnam needs to take stronger measures to gradually reduce budget subsidies for non-essential press agencies. Instead, it should only support public-interest press (essential news, law, local information) with an independent control mechanism.

In Vietnam, newspapers still depend mainly on advertising revenue, especially online advertising. Platforms such as Facebook and Google dominate the digital advertising market, making it difficult for newsrooms to maintain financial stability from advertising. Although some online newspapers have experimented with the paywall model, this model has not really become popular because Vietnamese readers' free reading habits are still very strong. Newsrooms should be encouraged to build autonomous business models, including: paid subscription packages (flexible paywall); commercialized products (books, seminars, training); crowdfunding; content cooperation with businesses (native content).

The government needs to have preferential credit policies and funds to support digital transformation of the press. Press agencies need to proactively build systems: Real-time user data analysis; content personalization system (AI-based recommendation); multi-platform news production and management platform (converged newsroom); anti-fake news application, source verification.

It is necessary to build a legal framework that clearly distinguishes between components such as Public Interest Press (sponsored), Professional Press (operating as information enterprises) and Personal Digital Content (bloggers, KOLs). At the same time, it is also necessary to expand editorial autonomy, reduce administrative intervention, limit the impact of economic organizations, and make public spending in the press industry transparent, to avoid the situation of "spread investment - low efficiency".

Digital transformation is not just a trend - it is a condition for the survival of journalism in the 21st century. With an irreplaceable role in building trust, making society transparent and promoting economic growth, Vietnamese journalism needs a deep and drastic reform. If we do not act today, journalism risks being pushed to the sidelines in the information game - where data, technology and reader trust are the three key factors that determine survival. When journalism is strong, the economy is strong. When journalism is slow, the whole society will pay the price.

To survive and develop in the digital age, Vietnamese journalism needs to comprehensively transform its thinking, technology, content and organization - not only to adapt, but also to lead and orient public opinion and protect the role of mainstream journalism.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/bao-chi-viet-nam-co-hoi-va-thach-thuc-trong-ky-nguyen-so-706145.html