Many comments on the Draft Press Law (amended)

On the morning of April 23, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) held a workshop to provide comments on the Draft Law on the Press Amendment. Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Ngoc Linh, Vice President of the VUSTA chaired the workshop.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Ngoc Linh emphasized: Amending and supplementing the 2016 Press Law to suit reality in order to create a favorable legal corridor for the press to operate and develop; at the same time, overcoming existing shortcomings and inadequacies; supplementing regulations to promptly adjust arising issues in practice is necessary.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Ngoc Linh, the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations currently has 70 press agencies, playing an important role in disseminating knowledge, publishing research results, and connecting scientists with socio-economic development practices.

Therefore, the consultation of press agencies in the system on the Draft Press Law (amended) shows the responsibility for formulating policies and laws as well as expressing the voice and contribution of press agencies in building a professional, humane and modern press and media. The Draft Press Law (amended) compared to the 2016 Press Law has a number of new points such as: State management agencies on the press, additional regulations to enhance the responsibility of the governing agency, detailed regulations to distinguish between newspapers and magazines, conditions for granting press cards, etc.

Dr. Le Cong Luong, Deputy Secretary General and Head of the Science and International Cooperation Department (Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations) commented: The draft Law on Press (amended) demonstrates the absorption and updating of new trends in press activities, especially in the context of digital transformation, social networks and the development of multimedia journalism.

However, it is necessary to continue to perfect some overlapping and unclear concepts between "journalistic products" and "journalistic information products" to avoid being exploited to circumvent regulations on press licensing, as well as to supplement specific regulations to protect the rights of journalists, especially in the digital press environment, when attacked and threatened.

To orient the development of scientific journals, Dr. Le Cong Luong proposed that the Law on Press (amended) needs to clearly distinguish between: Scientific journals - places to publish research works, scientific criticism and specialized information journals, disseminating knowledge.

These two types have different characteristics, target audiences and operating criteria, so appropriate regulations on licensing, content standards and staff are needed. At the same time, there needs to be a mechanism to support digital transformation for scientific journals: Include content supporting digitalization of journals in the national press development strategy; Assign national digital identifiers to each journal (similar to ISBN identifiers in publishing); Support digital infrastructure and editing management tools, electronic publishing.

Dr. Le Cong Luong, Deputy Secretary General and Head of the Department of Science and International Cooperation, spoke at the workshop.

Journalist Dang Dinh Chan, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Integration Magazine, said that the Draft Press Law (amended) has affirmed the urgency of amending the 2016 Press Law to be closer to current development practices.

However, he said it is necessary to innovate scientific communication thinking, creating a space for substantive development for scientific journalism, in line with the spirit of Resolution 57 of the Politburo on developing science, technology and innovation.

The Draft Law needs to have a clear classification of specific scientific journals and applied scientific journals that disseminate knowledge and play a role in scientific communication, in order to consider and weigh the granting of press cards for the activities of these journals, thereby creating a press law that is suitable for current development trends.

Regarding the issuance of press cards, Mr. Dang Dinh Chan proposed: Currently, journalists working at scientific journals are still involved in the process of collecting and processing information and have the task of transmitting knowledge to the public. Not issuing press cards may cause difficulties for them in their work. Therefore, there needs to be a clear classification of scientific journals to help state management agencies monitor and manage more closely. If there are any adjustments, they should only limit the scope of their work in accordance with their functions, instead of completely eliminating the right to be issued cards.

Commenting on the Draft Law on Press (amended), Journalist Tran Trong An, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Gia Dinh Electronic Magazine, said that the Draft Law on Press (amended) is an important document to update and perfect the legal framework for press activities in the context of digital technology development and international integration in Vietnam. However, for the law to be highly effective in practice, it is necessary to supplement detailed, transparent regulations and mechanisms to protect the rights of relevant parties.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/nhieu-y-kien-dong-gop-du-thao-luat-bao-chi-sua-doi-post874626.html