Many initiatives were born
Over the past decade, the world's press has witnessed newsrooms downsizing as revenue and circulation continue to decline, leading to layoffs and pay cuts for reporters. Journalism has become one of the most risky and poorly compensated professions today. Over the past decade, the number of paid journalism jobs in the United States has been cut by more than a third. This situation has occurred to varying degrees in many countries in difficult economic circumstances.
In late July, the BBC announced it would cut 500 jobs by March 2026, after cutting 10% of its workforce over the past five years, equivalent to nearly 2,000 jobs.
The cuts are the latest in a series of cuts as the BBC faces inflationary pressures, funding shortages and wider changes in media viewing. The company will eliminate or transfer some roles, as well as create others in “growth areas”.
BBC headquarters. (Photo: SCMP)
More than ever, the journalism industry is facing unprecedented difficulties. To continue to exist and promote their functions, newsrooms are forced to find a new development model suitable for the digital media environment, and have a new and diverse revenue structure.
According to journalist Nguyen Thu Ha - Deputy Director of the Center for Digital Content Production and Development, Vietnam Television, this is not only a problem of the press industry but also a problem of the whole society, because the press plays a role as a public good and essential service.
Despite having the characteristics of public goods and being considered essential services such as health care and education, most media agencies in the world as well as in Vietnam are operating based on market mechanisms. In Vietnam, even Vietnam Television VTV is operating under a completely autonomous mechanism. Many media agencies rely on direct revenue mainly from the sale of goods, press services and advertising services.
However, in recent years, newspaper advertising revenue has been in serious decline.
Journalist Nguyen Thu Ha said that the model of “Press as a public good” is a proposal supported by many organizations and media experts, calling on the whole society to increase support for press agencies, calling for increased aid from sponsors as well as voluntary contributions to news production activities. All to ensure that the press can continue to operate effectively as a public service.
Many initiatives and programs have been launched to support journalism around the world, to help journalism survive and overcome difficulties. For example, initiatives such as Journalism Trust, NewsGuard and Ad for News, to screen reliable sources of journalism for advertisers, thereby directing advertising towards supporting news organizations.
Journalist Nguyen Thu Ha said that in Vietnam, the Ministry of Information and Communications has also publicly posted a list of “verified” online content (White List) used for advertising activities. This list includes 301 electronic newspapers and magazines.
Journalist Nguyen Thu Ha. (Photo: VTV)
"The Ministry also said it will soon establish a Digital Advertising Alliance as an effort to restore advertising revenue to newspapers. In fact, advertisers also want to link their brands to accurate, high-quality information sources, so these are feasible initiatives to increase revenue for newspapers," said journalist Thu Ha.
Large-scale newspapers and magazines are also trying to turn to new business initiatives. Many newspapers are developing event organization services, livestreaming, e-commerce businesses, and establishing their own apps with diverse service ecosystems. These new business projects are mainly designed to diversify revenue sources and create new sources of income to compensate for declining advertising revenue. However, according to Ms. Ha, these strategies are only suitable for large press agencies, while small-scale press agencies find it very difficult to diversify revenue sources in this way.
Recently, many funding solutions for sustainable journalism for the benefit of the community have emerged, including models of assigning tasks and orders to press agencies from state agencies, public organizations, development funds and non-profit organizations. Vietnamese press agencies are also actively promoting this source of revenue with the support of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Finance.
Subsidies and tax breaks
The economic crisis of journalism not only worries the press and journalists, but also governments and social organizations, because the role of press information in the progressive development of society and each country is irreplaceable.
Some governments have introduced direct subsidies for journalism. In Europe, the European Union has introduced major funding programmes such as MEDIA for film and television production. At the national level, most governments are aware of the crisis facing journalism and are looking to subsidise journalism to offset some of the loss of revenue for news organisations. However, the extent of government financial support for journalism varies considerably from country to country.
The “Journalism as a Public Good” model is a proposal supported by many organizations and media experts.
Recognizing this reality in Vietnam, journalist Nguyen Thu Ha said that press agencies including the Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Journalists Association in coordination with the Ministry of Finance are making efforts to promote the media ordering mechanism for the press.
This content is also proposed to be included in the revised Press Law to legalize this mechanism to create a stable source of revenue for the press in the coming time. According to Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam, the immediate goal for 2024 is that the process of ordering media from press organizations must be shortened, simplified and feasible, and at the same time, there must be specific instructions to help press agencies tap into this important source of revenue.
One indirect but also important way governments are supporting news organizations is by considering tax breaks for news organizations. In the United States, a proposed law called the Sustainable Local Journalism Act, introduced in Congress in 2021, would provide local newspapers with tax credits on their journalists’ salaries. In Canada, the federal government announced an ambitious policy in 2018 that would provide tax credits and other incentives to support news operations with about $600 million over five years.
In Vietnam, print media agencies are currently given corporate income tax incentives by the government at a rate of 10%. However, according to journalist Thu Ha, many press agencies currently have two or more types of press (radio, television, print, electronic). Meanwhile, press activities all serve political tasks, providing essential information.
Therefore, the Ministry of Information and Communications is proposing that the state unify the application of preferential corporate income tax policies for all types of press, creating favorable conditions for press and facilitating accounting and tax management.
"Many initiatives are being implemented around the world, including those of press agencies themselves and those of governments and social organizations, to support the existence and development of the press. When the market mechanism fails, it is time for the press to demonstrate its role as an essential service and public good, and receive incentives and resources commensurate with that role," said journalist Nguyen Thu Ha.
Hoa Giang
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/thuc-trang-cat-giam-nhan-luc-va-cac-sang-kien-cuu-bao-chi-truoc-thach-thuc-kinh-te-nghiem-trong-post306348.html
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