Diversifying revenue sources - a challenging issue for today's press agencies

That was the sharing of Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam at the forum "Diversifying revenue sources of press agencies" held in Ho Chi Minh City, within the framework of the National Press Forum 2024.

On the morning of March 16, within the framework of the 2024 National Press Conference, a seminar on diversifying revenue sources for press agencies took place in Ho Chi Minh City. Attending the seminar were Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam and representatives of leaders of central and local press agencies.

News media revenue streams are being impacted by changing technology.

Speaking at the seminar, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam shared that the concept of press revenue poses many challenges for press agencies today.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam speaks at the forum. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Lam said that currently, the revenue of press agencies is affected by the new market mechanism. In reality, if they only rely on and depend heavily on advertising, press agencies will always face the risk of declining revenue, in the context of businesses increasingly looking to advertise on social networking platforms such as: Facebook, Zalo, YouTube...

In addition, news sites and social networking sites intentionally take content from press agencies to attract advertising revenue, making the revenue "pie" for press agencies increasingly smaller.

Faced with the trend of declining revenue, press agencies are still confused about solutions to overcome difficulties. This is partly the responsibility of the management agency in removing policy mechanisms that are not fast enough and not timely enough.

Delegates attending the forum. Photo: Thanh Cuong

According to the Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, many customers no longer advertise through press agencies. Businesses have been looking for more effective ways to promote their products and sell their products. Therefore, press agencies also need to approach many other avenues to find sources of revenue.

Presenting a paper at the discussion session, Mr. Nguyen Quang Dong - Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Media Development acknowledged that the explosion and deep penetration of digital technology has fundamentally changed the press market.

The change is clearly shown in three aspects: news consumption behavior, market structure (supply, distribution channels, sales) and revenue sources.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Dong commented that the trend of readers is getting younger and their news-seeking behavior is also changing. Instead of reading newspapers, they mainly access news through social networking platforms, so newsrooms must invest more in technology and diversify new forms of reaching readers.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Dong - Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Media Development delivered a speech at the forum. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Looking back at the trends of the press market over the past 15 years, the Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Media Development affirmed that the factor that fundamentally changes the press today is technology. When technology penetrates, the press market changes accordingly. Therefore, in order to continue to develop, dominate the market, and diversify revenue sources, press agency leaders must understand, grasp, and apply technology.

Citing the example of Thanh Nien Newspaper, a newspaper that is leading in revenue and reach on social networks, Mr. Nguyen Quang Dong commented that the application of technology, especially artificial intelligence AI, is a good solution to reduce costs in content production and optimize revenue for press agencies.

Proposing a long-term direction for the press economy, Mr. Nguyen Quang Dong said that in the coming time, the Ministry of Information and Communications should propose that the Government leaders provide more support to press agencies. In particular, exempting and reducing value-added tax for all press products; simplifying administrative procedures with policy communication packages; facilitating the implementation of the task of controlling user interactions on social networking platforms.

In the long term, it is necessary to promote socialization to increase investment in technology and business capacity for press agencies; support press agencies to increase their presence and business cooperation with social networking platforms through the "bridge" role of the Ministry of Information and Communications...

Leverage strengths to diversify revenue streams

At the forum, speakers shared information about the long-term direction for the journalism economy; efforts to diversify reader approaches; changes in the journalism market in the digital age; and at the same time, proposed a number of solutions for the journalism economy.

Speakers shared information about the long-term direction for the journalism economy. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Journalist Le Thanh Tuan - Director of Vinh Long Radio and Television Station said that this unit identifies two separate segments including journalism and entertainment. The journalism segment focuses on current events, special topics, science and education,... while the entertainment segment mainly focuses on content about feature films: Vietnamese feature films, foreign feature films, game shows...

Currently, the entertainment sector is generating 90% of the revenue for Vinh Long Radio and Television Station. The main revenue sources are television advertisements. However, in the general trend, this revenue source is decreasing day by day.

Journalist Le Thanh Tuan - Director of Vinh Long Radio and Television Station spoke at the forum. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Presenting recommendations at the discussion, Mr. Le Thanh Tuan proposed to remove regulations controlling advertising time in television programs and entertainment programs; allow users to collect fees on the Vinh Long Television platform, because currently, to collect fees, it must go through a third party.

Besides, currently, TV stations have to pay 20% of their profits for corporate income tax, which is a huge source of funding, while TV stations have to invest in depth, from machinery, equipment, programs, etc. Therefore, the Director of Vinh Long Radio and Television Station proposed to exempt corporate income tax for TV stations.

Attending the discussion, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Nga - Editor-in-Chief of Giao Thong Newspaper said that in order to attract readers, the newspaper focuses on implementing the principle of doing the best content it can, the best every day. In addition, promoting and expanding strengths, flexibly responding to the market and taking advantage of all ways to diversify revenue sources.

Comrade Le Quoc Minh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, President of the Vietnam Journalists Association attended the forum. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Sharing about the new source of revenue, the Editor-in-Chief of Giao Thong Newspaper said that currently Giao Thong Newspaper is focusing on organizing events and seminars, prioritizing making television bridges.

Mr. Tran Xuan Toan - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Tuoi Tre Newspaper shared that the change in readers' habits has changed the revenue structure of Tuoi Tre Newspaper. Previously, 75% of the revenue came from selling newspapers and advertising on paper newspapers, now 75% of the revenue comes from digital platforms.

The reversal forced Tuoi Tre Newspaper to invest heavily in technology, change the mindset and journalism habits of its reporters and editors. Along with that, the newspaper also had to manage to both minimize the decline in print newspapers and continue to diversify its revenue sources.

Accordingly, Tuoi Tre Newspaper divides customers into 3 groups: daily newspaper readers, businesses and government agencies.

From there, there are steps to take care of and pay the most appropriate attention to each customer group. In particular, the biggest focus is on the group of readers, trying to change their reading habits from paper newspapers to online.

For the business client group, the newspaper tries to show businesses that their products and services will reach the desired customer base.

As for the group of state management agencies, newspapers will create a way of conveying policies so that the public can understand and access them more easily.

Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Tuoi Tre Newspaper Tran Xuan Toan shares about diversifying Tuoi Tre Newspaper's revenue sources. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Regarding copyright issues, Mr. Toan proposed that there should be a dialogue between social networking platforms and the Journalists Association and press agencies on compliance with the provisions of the Advertising Law, as well as sharing revenue with press agencies when exploiting data and content from the press.

Mr. Toan recommended that state management agencies must take strict measures to ensure fairness between press agencies and social networking platforms in complying with the provisions of the Advertising Law.

Attending the seminar, the speakers also offered a number of solutions for the press economy such as: Digital transformation of the press to comprehensively change the operations of the newsroom, creating a newsroom/press complex that converges multimedia, conveniently connecting with readers; digital transformation associated with the development of the digital economy, diversifying revenue sources, increasing the competitiveness of press agencies with cross-border platforms. Mechanisms for ordering press in policy communication to promote the press economy...

According to Nghe An Newspaper

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/thoi-su/da-dang-nguon-thu-van-de-nhieu-thach-thuc-doi-voi-cac-co-quan-bao-chi-hien-nay/209215.htm