Le Quoc Minh, Member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, and Chair of the Vietnam Journalists Association, noted that the number and revenue of digital publications are on the rise, while the number and revenue of print publications are on the decrease. And the increase in digital publications cannot offset the decrease of print newspapers.

While the global ad market has expanded in recent years, the number of ads in newspapers has decreased. In 2019-2024, revenue from print publications dropped from $35.1 billion to $21 billion. Meanwhile, revenue from digital publications increased moderately, from $10.6 billion to $11.9 billion.

How can press agencies earn their living?

“In addition to revenue from ads and readers, many press agencies try to increase their revenue by organizing events, calling for sponsors, and cooperating with social networks and technological platforms,” Minh said.

However, revenue from ads remains an important source of revenue for press agencies.

“The number of ads in newspapers has dropped sharply and the revenue from ads of some press agencies now just accounts for 40-50 percent, but ads remain a very important source of income,” Minh said, adding that Google and Facebook hold 70 percent of the ad market share.

Asked about the new driving forces for newspapers in the time to come, Minh said most press agencies are seeking revenue from readers, stressing that the source of revenue is getting more and more important, and this is a safe source of revenue.

Collecting fees from readers was first done by some press agencies in 2012. At that time, no one believed that the model would be successful. A lot of experiments and mistakes have been made by newspapers so far.

The New York Times decided to collect fees from readers, gave up, but later announced  fees. Washington Post did not collect fees, but it changed its mind. Now, most large newspapers in the world are collecting fees.

In Vietnam, some newspapers are waiting to see if other newspapers can succeed with their fee collection.

Another way to earn money is through advertising units. T Brand Studio, which is an advertising unit of the The New York Times, for example, produces programs and ads for clients such as Cartier, Google and American Express.

Many press agencies in Vietnam make money by organizing events, which can bring 20 percent of total revenue. There are many forms of event organization such as professional seminar, live shows, trade fairs and awarding ceremonies.

Dau tu (Investment) and VnEconomy are the two newspapers in Vietnam that have experience in organizing events. Nhan Dan also has successfully organized many events, one of which attracted up to 70,000 attendees.

Some press agencies are providing IT (information technology) services. For a long time, people thought that press agencies just bought technology from technology firms rather than provide technologies to others. However, the Washington Post has developed technological products of its own, used on 400 websites.

The bottlenecks

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung cited a report as saying that by the end of 2023, newspapers and journals that could cover all their regular expenditures themselves accounted for 39 percent, while 36 percent could cover a part of regular expenditures, and the state ensured regular expenditures for the remaining 25 percent.

The revenue of newspapers and journals in the first nine months of 2023 decreased by 9.4 percent compared with the same period in 2022. Meanwhile, the total revenue of radio and television stations in 2023 dropped 23 percent.

For a long time, newspapers had lived on revenue from ads, which accounted for 60-90 percent of total revenue. But revenue has dropped sharply recently because of the presence of foreign social network platforms such as Facebook and Google.

Dung said press agencies are facing many difficulties and agencies need to create reasonable tax policies for press agencies to promote the development of the press.

Thu Hang - Quang Phong