The key to the development of modern journalism

On the afternoon of March 15, within the framework of the Vietnam Press Forum - an activity organized in parallel with the 2024 National Press Festival, a discussion session took place with the theme: "Data journalism and outstanding content strategy".

Speaking at the opening of the discussion, Associate Professor, Dr. Do Thi Thu Hang informed: In recent years, the strong development of science and technology, social networks and recently Artificial Intelligence (AI) has impacted the behavior of Internet users and the development trend of modern journalism.

Associate Professor, Dr. Do Thi Thu Hang gave the opening speech.

According to the 2024 Journalism and Media Trends Report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (UK), there are three main trends affecting journalism and media: First, many new types of devices are emerging. Second, digital platforms and social networks specializing in audio and video creation are developing explosively. Third, the wave of artificial intelligence. Some newsrooms call this change the “second phase” of the digital revolution, requiring news agencies to have a different and outstanding content strategy to retain the public.

"In Vietnam, some press agencies are promoting multimedia content strategies, combining data journalism with science and technology and creative ideas; some press agencies focus on in-depth content strategies for niche markets," Associate Professor, Dr. Do Thi Thu Hang commented.

Journalism trends 2024: Editors are very optimistic

Opening the discussion, Mr. Kah Whye Lee - Regional Director of Asia, World Association of Newspaper Publishers informed about the survey of WAN-IFRA (World Association of Newspapers) on 175 press leaders, despite many challenges, the leaders were quite optimistic about 2024 and even more optimistic in the long term - in the next 3 years.

Globally, newsrooms expect revenue to increase by 15% compared to 2022. In 2024, newsrooms expect revenue growth and a strong focus on new revenue sources. The majority of revenue in 2024 will come from elections, as half the world’s population votes this year, generating revenue growth for newspapers.

The discussion session attracted the attention of many reporters and journalists.

Mr. Kah Whye Lee said that the largest revenue still comes from advertising, and is still oriented from circulation and from readers. The trend is that newsrooms are increasingly looking to diversify their revenue sources, outside of advertising revenue. This means that new revenue sources are increasing.

"Print revenue accounts for more than half - 57% and is higher than last year - which is very surprising. Meanwhile, digital revenue increased quite a bit, 2%, and digital revenue is decreasing," said Mr. Kah Whye Lee.

According to Mr. Kah Whye Lee, the newsrooms are waiting for revenue from non-publication sources - that is, sources that are not from readers, not from advertising - to account for 20%. The most important source is organizing events - many newsrooms say this source of revenue accounts for 30%, followed by sponsorship and cooperation with other platforms.

Mr. Kah Whye Lee - Regional Director for Asia, World Association of Newspapers and Publishers

The report also shows that the number of newsrooms undergoing deep and extensive digital transformation is on the rise. In terms of technology-related investments in newsrooms, their top priority will be investing in AI, followed by data analysis and insights, and thirdly, focusing on video.

"Although AI is the biggest investment, newsrooms do not have a specific roadmap for this investment. It is surprising that most newsrooms say they have not used AI like Chat GPT...", said Mr. Kah Whye Lee.

Mr. Kah Whye Lee said that this hesitation is due to their uncertainty about the accuracy and the management policy is still unclear. About 80% of newsrooms are concerned about AI and consider it a threat to themselves. The most worrying thing is using the newsroom's content without paying, the second is that readers will read AI content instead of reading newspapers anymore, and the third is the concern about fake news.

Applying data science to develop superior journalistic content

In his presentation, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quang Dieu said that applying data science to develop outstanding press content is an inevitable trend today. Providing general information about the digital newsroom model, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quang Dieu said that in the past, data only participated in part of the articles.

But now, technology has made data present as a new genre of journalism. Regarding the process, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quang Dieu presented a complete model, starting from the idea, journalists will identify data, enrich data based on technology platforms, analyze and evaluate, then visualize before publishing.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quang Dieu said that it is necessary to build a press ecosystem where press agencies can share data, creating a common data warehouse.

Based on specific studies, the speaker stated: Currently, press agencies are only at a relatively independent level, without connection and sharing. Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quang Dieu said that it is necessary to build a press ecosystem where press agencies can share data, creating a common data warehouse. To do this, state management agencies need specific guidance and direction.

"In addition, press and media establishments also need to change their training programs to meet current practical needs," Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quang Dieu emphasized.

Nhan Dan Newspaper's outstanding content strategy and the role of data journalism

Journalist Ngo Viet Anh, Deputy Head of the People's Electronic Department of Nhan Dan Newspaper, said that currently, the world press is facing great competition from social networks. Platforms like Tik Tok are developing rapidly, reaching more and more young audiences. Many video content creators even have more followers and viewers than mainstream press channels on Tik Tok.

However, according to journalist Ngo Viet Anh, the world press is still receiving many optimistic signals. Quality news and media organizations can still grow sustainably in 2024 on the basis of developing subscription packages and combining multiple revenue streams. In addition, the world will witness many political events (more than 40 elections) and sports (Olympic Games) in 2024. This will be a lever for newsrooms to increase the number of readers.

Journalist Ngo Viet Anh presented a paper on "The outstanding content strategy of Nhan Dan Newspaper and the role of data journalism".

As a key press agency, in recent times, Nhan Dan Newspaper has paid special attention to the strategy of developing outstanding content, focusing on promoting digital transformation, developing in-depth journalism, and data journalism combined with technology.

Specifically, Nhan Dan Newspaper has deployed digital newsroom models, applied technology to track readers' behavior on the homepage, applied artificial intelligence (AI)... In addition, Nhan Dan Newspaper also promotes the development of in-depth journalism, data journalism combined with technology, typically the In-depth Knowledge column with the slogan: Every question has an answer. This is the first column, different from all other columns in newspapers in Vietnam.

"Each In-depth Knowledge product will provide systematic information about an event, issue, character, organization, place name... in the form of questions and answers. In addition, the column also has a modern interface, attracting readers. Each product is presented in a unified format, with identity", journalist Ngo Viet Anh added.

Another outstanding mark of Nhan Dan Newspaper is the continuous launch of special pages, combining technology with creative ideas to digitize valuable archives, bringing special experiences to readers.

Journalist Ngo Viet Anh summarized Nhan Dan Newspaper's experience in developing an outstanding content strategy and data journalism. Accordingly, in terms of human resources, it is necessary to change the mindset of leaders and employees towards digital-first; at the same time, operate the newsroom in an open and interactive way; focus on training multimedia and multi-platform human resources and encourage the spirit of innovation.

Regarding technology, it is necessary to develop a model of a technology newsroom, increase investment in equipment and technology engineers; promote cooperation with technology companies as well as apply artificial intelligence.

Financially, press agencies need to use their budgets effectively; at the same time, diversify revenue sources from content advertising and event organization for reinvestment.

Data journalism - a key strategy in building outstanding content

Affirming: The press is undergoing a profound transformation due to the advancement of digital technology, Ms. Tran Le Thuy - a media and journalism expert, believes that data journalism is an inevitable trend.

"Data journalism is a new field that combines knowledge from many different fields, such as social science, data science, computer science, data analysis, information design and storytelling," the expert emphasized.

Ms. Tran Le Thuy - media and journalism expert believes that data journalism is an inevitable trend.

According to the speaker, one of the popular strategies for long-term investment in developing data journalism skills is to use creative software. At the same time, to produce interactive stories and images, most newsrooms rely, to a greater or lesser extent, on external platforms.

Data journalism is a specialized field within journalism that has developed in response to the growing prevalence of data generation and quantification. The fundamentals of data journalism include the use of interactive visual storytelling, statistical analysis, 3D maps, and many other methods to communicate data-driven news and information.

Citing many examples to confirm the outstanding effectiveness of data journalism, Ms. Tran Le Thuy said that Vietnamese press offices should pay attention to developing data journalism, making it an indispensable profession for journalists. Data profession combined with journalistic production skills can ensure fairness, accuracy, and balance in journalistic works, building trust with readers. This is an important strategy in building outstanding content.

Positive innovation of local journalism

During the discussion, journalist Bui Thi Thu Huong - Deputy Director of Quang Ninh Provincial Media Center said that in the past 5 years, Quang Ninh Provincial Media Center has digitized the entire document system of Radio and Television Station, Quang Ninh Newspaper...

All data are assigned specific information fields, ensuring the most convenient search and use. Ms. Huong added that based on the above database system, the Center has produced many special publications. In the near future, the Quang Ninh Provincial Media Center will also move towards implementing a plan to digitize the entire system of relics and landscapes in this province.

Overview of the discussion session.

Meanwhile, journalist Ngo Duc Kien - Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper shared that Nghe An Newspaper is at the beginning of the digital transformation process and implementing outstanding content. Currently, Nghe An Newspaper is focusing on in-depth research on readers, aiming to attract the public to itself based on 3 solutions: People-Technology and outstanding content strategy.

"We have worked with media experts from Google and Youtube to learn more about the newspaper's readers. We also determined: Wherever there are Nghe An people, there must be Nghe An newspaper," emphasized journalist Tran Duc Kien.

Sharing the approach to "niche markets", journalist Minh Viet - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper said that recently, Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper has clearly identified the goal of needing to follow the direction of specialized, in-depth journalism; focusing on providing specific solutions specifically for farmers.

Concluding the session, Associate Professor Dr. Do Thi Thu Hang affirmed: Data journalism has a central position and core role in the development of digital journalism in the world and in Vietnam, is a strong solution to implement outstanding content strategies, and enhance the competitiveness of press agencies.

The Head of the Professional Department of the Vietnam Journalists Association believes that press agencies today need to consider the development of data journalism as a mandatory requirement. Open data sources, linked data, and self-data of press agencies, especially data for analyzing press trends, will be the basis for filtering and enriching data, analyzing and evaluating, and visualizing data. These are basic operations to apply data journalism in multimedia storytelling, creating uniqueness and superiority of press content.

PV Group

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/bao-chi-du-lieu-va-chien-luoc-noi-dung-vuot-troi-chia-khoa-cho-su-phat-trien-bao-chi-hien-dai-post288019.html