'Second breath' of journalism

Delegates attending the Vietnam Press Forum in the New Era. (Photo: Hoang Giang)

At the discussion session "Vietnamese press in the new era: Vision for creating development space", many experts shared the view that Vietnamese press no longer only plays a visual role in providing information, but is also a creator and leader of society in the context of digital transformation and the rise of AI.

Regaining credibility in a 'chaotic marketplace'

Dr. Tran Dang Tuan - former Deputy General Director of Vietnam Television stated that the press is struggling to create a space on social networks. Although the press has tried to "break into all platforms", from building apps, websites, social networks... the overall picture is still quite bleak. Many major newspapers have seen a sharp decline in both readership and circulation.

He believes that the press cannot compete with social networks in terms of speed, when the public is guided by suggestion algorithms instead of actively reading. Instead, the press must have new breaths. The current solution is not multi-platform journalism but journalism by another name - multi-method journalism. That means the press must have many methods of approaching the public, packaging methods, business...

"Now is the time for Vietnamese press to stop struggling to find a 'place to sell' press products on platforms. Instead, we need to return to the core issue of improving product quality. The press has only one way to make readers come to it because it is the most credible, the highest quality, and makes people understand the root of the problem. Press opens up, analyzes, and creates the thinking of readers and the public. The second breath is quality journalism," said this expert.

Citing the special press publications that have been continuously "sought after" by the community in recent times, Mr. Hoang Nam Tien - Vice Chairman of the Board of FPT University said that some press agencies are successful because they have said what all classes of people want to receive.

"I have witnessed thousands of Gen Zers opening the newspaper, scanning the QR Code and reading enthusiastically. Here, we need to return to the old value: All readers want to have reliable, authentic sources of information. Journalists themselves also need to be real journalists, truly consider journalism as a revolutionary weapon. The more we face pressure from social networks and AI, the more necessary these requirements are," said Mr. Tien.

Mr. Hoang Nam Tien also predicted that in just the next 6 months, AI will change the entire way the public searches for and processes information. However, he frankly admitted that AI can do a lot except for 3 things.

“AI is not curious, AI is very good at imitating creativity but does not know how to investigate. And AI does not have emotional intelligence. If the lines we write can still touch someone's heart, we do not fear AI... AI is not the opponent of journalism. AI is the extension of human intelligence,” Mr. Hoang Nam Tien emphasized.

Building a lean, strong journalism foundation, rebuilding public trust

Raising the issue of determining the vision for the next 10 years, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hoa, Journalism - Communication expert, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Digital Transformation Center, said that the press needs to continue to achieve the goal of being: Streamlined, compact, strong, efficient, and effective. In which, journalists must be refined, press agencies must be compact, processes must be efficient, and operating models must be effective. To do so, it is necessary to aim for a humane and modern press.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hoa also put forward some core views. Firstly, humanistic journalism takes serving the goal of a rich people, a strong country, democracy, fairness, and civilization as its top priority. In response to the country's requirements today, each press agency must be strong, then there will be a strong press group, and only then can we build a community, help people, businesses, and implement policies.

Second, modernizing journalism means breaking stereotypes and stereotypes, expressed through both content and form. Creating a new reality for journalism means taking action to create positive changes in the interaction between journalism and cyberspace. The more mainstream information is created, the closer journalism gets to its mission of monitoring and criticizing society. Digital government, digital economy , digital society and especially digital citizens require journalism to also be knowledgeable about the activities, habits and new behaviors of new publics.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hoa shared at the discussion session (Photo: PV)

"The press is facing an opportunity to modernize its operating model as technology, innovation and digital transformation are opening up new avenues of information. Blockchain technology helps produce and distribute press products and ensure intellectual property rights for works," said Mr. Hoa.

Agreeing with the above viewpoint, Dr. Le Quoc Vinh - Media expert, Chairman of Le Group of Companies said that the press needs to regain readers' trust based on the truth. In addition, the press needs to create 4 pillars: Content quality is the core; technological innovation and comprehensive digital transformation; diversifying sustainable business models; training and developing human resources...

The 'second breath' of journalism is the return to quality, credibility, depth, and a creative role so that journalism not only reports, but also leads, connects, and accompanies the public in an increasingly complex digital space.

Minh Trang

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/hoi-tho-thu-hai-cua-bao-chi-post552473.html