Revolutionary journalism, from leaders to staff, must have revolutionary thinking and constantly progress.
+ Over the years, one of the messages that you and many other press leaders have frequently emphasized is that the press must force itself to innovate. Why is press innovation becoming increasingly urgent, sir?
- Journalist Le Quoc Minh: Society is changing every day, the press environment is also changing, journalism technology is changing, especially the press public is changing their "information consumption" habits. If the press does not change, how can it keep up with the movement of society, how can it capture readers and audiences? In the current stormy technology era, going slow means falling behind, let alone standing still. Over the past years, we have introduced many press trends in the world, especially compiled studies and reports on innovation in journalism for Vietnamese press agencies to refer to. Studies have all confirmed that if the press does not innovate, even has to innovate continuously, then it can overcome current difficulties and seize opportunities for development.
+ The world press has recently been referring to the so-called “third digital revolution”, a new era of the Internet being formed by the explosion of artificial intelligence (AI). This means that a new era of journalism will also begin. Demanding that journalism innovate more strongly in the context of an increasingly difficult journalism economy, will this put journalism in too difficult a position, sir?
- Journalist Le Quoc Minh: For hundreds of years, we have been familiar with the traditional way of doing journalism, but reality is changing, and changing rapidly, requiring journalism to change as well. Not long ago, old ways of working were still effective. But the rapid development of technology, social networking platforms, especially artificial intelligence and generative AI in recent times has had a profound impact on the operations of press agencies. Now without technology, it is impossible to operate effectively, unable to compete.
Never before has the press faced so many challenges as it does today, but never before has there been so many opportunities. In the past, a press agency only had to compete with a few hundred, a few thousand newspapers, radio and television channels, now they are attracted by billions of content channels on the Internet. In the past, a journalist could have exclusive access to a private source of information, now it is not easy to have such exclusive content.
In the past, a good article depended on the ability of reporters and editors, now they can be supported by technology to reduce their labor. In the past, we had no way to accurately grasp the needs and habits of readers, one article served millions of people. Now we can know what each reader reads in our newspaper, which section they usually switch to after reading this article, even one content can be automatically created in different versions, serving many different readers.
However, it should also be noted that many newsrooms are too “eager” for the artificial intelligence fever that is heating up in the world of technology without really understanding it and not being prepared. Knowing how to use technology, especially artificial intelligence, will make newsroom operations more efficient and economical. On the contrary, using AI at the wrong time and at the wrong stage in the production process can make readers lose trust because of inaccurate content, causing costs, not to mention the possibility of violating ethical or copyright issues.
+ In innovation and technology application, besides financial potential, determination and awareness are equally important. The "key word" for newsrooms to solve this problem is the proactive mindset, boldness to experiment to find the right direction and the determination to go all the way in the determination to innovate, sir?
- Journalist Le Quoc Minh: We have affirmed many times that digital transformation is not a matter of technology investment, not a matter of much or little budget, but the important thing is a change in thinking, from the thinking of the leader to the entire system. There are newsrooms in the world that even appoint "digital transformation ambassadors" so that the leadership's spirit spreads to every corner, every department. Many local press agencies in Vietnam have limited budgets but have been very successful in digital transformation in recent times, while there are agencies with stronger potential that are standing still.
We see press leaders who are very determined to direct, strengthen training and exchange learning with other agencies, and they really create a clear change. Let me give some very specific examples of Nghe An Newspaper, Hai Duong Newspaper, Dak Nong Newspaper... In particular, in just a short time, Dak Nong Newspaper has made remarkable progress, for many months leading the Party's press agencies in terms of online newspaper traffic. And let me reaffirm that digital transformation is a long-term process, in cycles. It is not enough to invest in a type of technology or some equipment to complete digital transformation, but to prepare for a new round of transformation.
+ Regarding the need to constantly innovate to be creative, you once said: now is the time to accept risks to experiment. Can you elaborate on the aspect of “taking risks”?
- Journalist Le Quoc Minh: In studies on modern journalism, we see that one point that foreign press agencies are focusing on is “product thinking.” Some researchers even emphasize that “product thinking” is a vital factor for journalism in the digital age.
Many press agencies are caught up in the daily, weekly, monthly cycle. They still publish the same print issues, the same radio and television programs, and update hundreds of articles on electronic newspapers every day. But there is no difference, no clear identity, so it is difficult to compete among the jungle of information on the Internet and social networks. But if you cannot escape the "safe zone" of each unit and each individual, there can be no breakthrough. Not every creative idea brings the desired results, so you have to take a little risk, accept the risk, and even accept that you may make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from the mistakes you make. It is said that success is important, but mistakes also bring good lessons.
In life, in business, what is good and interesting has certainly been done by someone else, even many people compete to enjoy the delicious cake, the fertile things. But if you boldly explore new lands, go to places no one has set foot, you can find valuable things. In the press as well, users want to experience different things, with identity, not the kind of content they can read anywhere or things they are too familiar with.
+ Speaking of the story of innovation and bold experimentation, I am reminded of a rare phenomenon in the Vietnamese press in recent years: the special print issue of Nhan Dan Newspaper on May 7, 2024 created a "fever" on all social networking forums, and was eagerly sought after by readers, especially Gen Z readers, so that thousands of supplements recreating the entire "Dien Bien Phu Campaign" using augmented reality (AR) technology had to be printed. This unexpected success shows that paper newspapers are not no longer attractive, but because the current propaganda is not attractive enough, and the innovation "has not arrived yet". So, clearly, if Revolutionary Press wants to maintain its position, it must continue to innovate, from the way of information, writing to the editorial management model, digitalization of the press... is that right, sir?
- Journalist Le Quoc Minh: We talk a lot about innovation in journalism, but we need to honestly admit to each other that there are very few breakthrough innovations in Vietnamese journalism.
Many press agencies have only tried to innovate and improve what they are doing, but have not yet come up with many new products following the motto of “disruptive innovation” of the world press. No innovation is easy, and innovation is not limited to any field. We are in the digital age, so when it comes to innovation, most people will think of digital products. This is understandable. But not many people think of combining digital with traditional platforms such as print newspapers.
In fact, in the world press, even print newspapers are very creative, especially in the field of print advertising. In the book “Innovation in Journalism – Global Report” that we compile annually, there is always a section for print newspapers, and there we see many extremely interesting examples. Also from an innovation in the 2023 report of Bild newspaper, Nhan Dan newspaper created a panorama with a record length of 3.21m. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Berlin TV Tower, the German newspaper printed a picture up to 2.35m long. Seeing that this idea was very good, we decided to print the picture at the Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum in the issue published on May 7.
But Nhan Dan Newspaper went further than Bild's idea by integrating QR Codes so that users can read extended information and designing a mobile application to turn static images into animated images. Not only that, we also made a large-scale panorama and set up an exhibition right next to the banyan tree at Nhan Dan Newspaper's editorial office next to Hoan Kiem Lake and a similar exhibition at the Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum. In just 1 week, about 30,000 people visited the 2 locations. The printed newspaper picture created an unprecedented fever, many young people posted it on social networks and had millions of views and comments. After the first printing of about 185,000 copies, we mobilized socialized funds to print 100,000 more copies and give them away for free nationwide.
The image of people, especially young people, lining up to receive the picture shows that a traditional and mainstream newspaper like Nhan Dan Newspaper can still attract young people. A seemingly dry historical issue, if presented creatively, can still be of interest and accepted by society.
+ The need to enhance the competitiveness of information and the attractiveness of the Revolutionary Press becomes even more urgent when our country's press turns 100 years old. The revolutionary quality in press agencies, if we do not preserve it, will gradually disappear. Moreover, fulfilling the mission of the Vietnamese Revolutionary Press, as you once emphasized, is not only a matter of survival for the press agency itself but also of bringing the voice of the Party and State accurately, fairly and balanced to all people in the country and the world. How will the Vietnamese press preserve and promote that revolutionary quality, sir?
- Journalist Le Quoc Minh: If we lose our revolutionary qualities, what can we call Vietnamese Revolutionary Journalism? I would like to reaffirm that the mission of Vietnamese Revolutionary Journalism has never changed and will never change: to serve the Fatherland, to serve the People, to effectively propagate the Party and State's guidelines and policies, to be a forum for the People, to provide useful information and knowledge to the people.
The way of doing journalism can change, the technology of journalism can change, the form of expression can also change, but the mission of the Vietnamese Press will never change. But in the end, we have to talk about effectiveness. The guidelines are maintained, the revolutionary qualities are maintained, but the information does not reach the public, which means the mission has not been accomplished.
Therefore, we recommend that press agencies, while cultivating Party spirit, orientation, and steadfastness in the mission of Revolutionary Press, must also update modern journalism methods, take advantage of advanced technology, continuously train and foster new skills for their staff, continuously innovate to attract new users and retain readers and listeners, create high-quality products, operate professionally and always put users at the center. Revolutionary Press, from leaders to staff, must have a revolutionary mindset and constantly move forward.
+ Thank you very much!
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/bao-chi-cach-mang-thi-tu-nguoi-lanh-dao-den-doi-ngu-nhan-vien-cung-phai-co-tu-duy-cach-mang-khong-ngung-tien-buoc-post299635.html
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