Looking back at a century of female journalism accompanying national history

For more than a century, women's journalism has always accompanied, reflected, led and encouraged the cause of liberation and development of Vietnamese women through each historical period.

From the first newspapers such as Nu gioi chung (1919) edited by Ms. Suong Nguyet Anh - to Tieng goi phu nu (1945), Phu nu Viet Nam (1948), Phu nu Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh (1975), Phu nu Thu do (1986)... the women's press has always accompanied, reflected, led and encouraged the cause of liberation and development of Vietnamese women through each historical period.

Nowadays, in response to the demands of a professional, modern and humane press, it is necessary to research and evaluate the role of the press from a gender perspective.

That is the reason why the Vietnam Journalists Association , in coordination with the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women's Union, organized the National Scientific Conference "Women with 100 years of Vietnamese revolutionary journalism" to honor the important contributions of women throughout the history of the country's journalism.

Affirming the role of female journalists

Speaking at the workshop on June 11, Ms. Tran Thi Kim Hoa, former Director of the Vietnam Press Museum, said that journalism about women is an important stream of journalism in general, especially Vietnamese revolutionary journalism, vividly and accurately reflecting the liberation process, while redefining the role of women in society.

Ms. Tran Thi Kim Hoa, former Director of the Vietnam Press Museum. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

According to Ms. Tran Thi Kim Hoa, the history of Vietnamese journalism in the early 20th century recorded the image and position of women not only as subjects, characters reflected, a part of the public, but also had extremely rich and vivid direct evidence to affirm the participation in the history of journalism of female journalists, with a process of gradually becoming the subject of creating and shaping media content.

Entering the 20th century, there began to be a new, graceful, rustic but equally attractive appearance of newspapers founded and run by women. This reality officially laid the foundation for the development of a gender-specific press, where women were not only talked about, but also raised their own voices.

In addition to female journalists who have made great contributions to journalism during and after the war, most of today’s young female journalists are well-educated, have journalistic skills, and are equipped with working tools that previous generations could only dream of. Taking advantage of the advantages of modern technology and social networks in their work process helps them develop their strengths in the modern journalism environment. Many female journalists have been very brave and quick, present at “hot spots,” providing readers with truthful and complete information.

“More than 100 years ago, we had our own first women’s newspaper, and to this day, female journalists have become an important part of the revolutionary press force. Not every country has this. It must be seen as strength, an aspiration for affirmation, a feminist issue that has been nurtured for many generations, condensed in newspaper names and pages,” said Ms. Hoa.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyen, Member of the Party Central Committee, President of the Vietnam Women's Union. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Assessing the role of female journalists, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyen, member of the Party Central Committee, President of the Vietnam Women's Union, said that the female press has not only fulfilled the glorious mission of revolutionary journalism, but also become a special media force in protecting the legitimate and legal rights of women, promoting gender equality and inspiring society about women's progress. Journalists holding pens and guns, female journalists on the front lines or on the media front in peacetime, have been and are important witnesses and subjects of the revolutionary journalism career and sustainable development.

Ms. Tuyen also pointed out the fact that currently, the force of female journalists is increasingly strong in both quality and quantity, but their potential has not been fully exploited. The Vietnam Journalists Association has more than 40% female members, but to date there is still no female leader at the level of Vice President or higher; the number of female editors-in-chief is not commensurate with the number of female journalists. Gender-insensitive press products still exist, affecting the transformation of awareness and gender equality actions of the entire community.

Therefore, Ms. Tuyen believes that researching and evaluating the role of journalism from a gender perspective is very necessary.

Supporting female journalists to develop their careers

In the context of strong digital transformation, the press in general and women's press in particular are facing fundamental changes in thinking, organization methods, publishing processes and public access models. This forces women's press to simultaneously perform two tasks: Preserving identity and innovating content to avoid falling behind in the context of fierce competition from social networks, digital content platforms and the trend of information personalization.

Mr. Phan Toan Thang, Chief of Office of Vietnam Journalists Association and Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Huong, Vice President of Vietnam Women's Union chaired the workshop. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

That is the viewpoint of Dr. Lieu Chi Trung, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Lawyer Magazine in the orientation of developing female journalism.

According to Mr. Trung, firstly, it is necessary to continue to improve and promote propaganda and awareness of the role and position of women in society in general and women's journalism in particular.

Second, there needs to be a policy to ensure gender equality in a real and complete way. Specifically, the state and organizations and management agencies need to have appropriate policies and guidelines to encourage and create conditions for female journalists and women journalists to develop in the new context.

Third, for press management agencies, it is necessary to increase attention, direction, and create conditions and support to maintain and promote the activities of women's press agencies, the content of activities related to women as well as the role of women in journalism.

Fourth, women's press agencies and press about women need to closely follow the policies of the Party, the State, and the governing agencies, and conduct research to have appropriate development strategies in the new period.

“In the digital age, women journalists and journalists about women need to be equipped with the necessary psychological factors, knowledge and skills to perform well in their roles in the face of professional requirements as well as pressures that can arise at any time from public opinion, readers or social networks.

Professor-Doctor Ta Ngoc Tan speaks at the conference. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Sharing the same view, Professor-Doctor Ta Ngoc Tan, Vice President of the Central Theoretical Council, said that women's development needs to be placed in the general development of the nation and the country.

“In the new era of development, women and female journalists play an increasingly important role. Especially in the context of rapid development of science and technology, with the strong development of artificial intelligence, many issues have been raised that require effective solutions to promote the development of women,” said Mr. Ta Ngoc Tan.

He believes that the press protects the development of women, so that women are evaluated and recognized in their correct position, role and status. The current rate of women in press leadership is not high, this is a reality. Therefore, the press in general, and female journalists in particular, need to speak up to promote the whole society to implement the development strategies set out by the Party and State./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/nhin-lai-mot-the-ky-bao-chi-nu-dong-hanh-cung-lich-su-dan-toc-post1043736.vnp