Luu Dinh Phuc, Director of the Authority of Press under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) talked to VietNamNet about issues arising during digital transformation.

What are the challenges Vietnamese newspapers face today?

Digital transformation and competition with cross-border media platforms are major challenges faced by press agencies today. 

The current revenue of the media industry is about $4 billion, which can see growth and potential of the industry in creating economic value. However, 50 percent of ad revenue is flowing to cross-border platforms. The collection of data by these platforms poses significant risks, resulting in substantial revenue loss for domestic media outlets and raising concerns over data control and ownership.

The collection of data by these platforms poses significant risks, resulting in substantial revenue loss for domestic media outlets and raising concerns over data control and ownership.

Journalism today bears pressure and has to innovate content and the way of disseminating information. The other problems include digital human resources and digital transformation mindset, as well as investment in digital technology in the context of limited resources. Thus, a unified understanding and strategic vision are crucial for addressing these complex issues.

What technological trends are changing journalistic content production and distribution?

AI, big data, blockchain, IoT (internet of things), cloud computing, video production, multimedia content, platform integration and virtual reality are changing the operations, production, distribution, and business models of traditional journalism. In this context, newsrooms have no other choice than to undergo digital transformation, continuously updating and experimenting with new technologies to remain competitive.

Some suggest that in the new era, media organizations should become tech firms. What is your opinion on this?

Journalism must be tied to digital technology for survival and development. In digital transformation, journalism must integrate with technology, and develop multi-platform, multi-service offerings like a tech company. However, this is a process of digital transformation, not the inherent nature of journalism as it is understood.

While businesses strive to make optimal profits, journalism's mission is to provide accurate, objective, and transparent information, serving the public's information needs, fostering social consensus, building public trust, involving ethics, and community interest protection. To fulfill this mission, journalism must retain its audience.

Creating good content alone is not enough. Journalism products in the AI era must be the result of a combination of content and technology. Many newsrooms rely on digital technology to survive and thrive. Journalism products need to be supported by technology to bring best experiences to the audience, personalize content and reach the audience.

Only by retaining its audience can journalism play its role in steering information.

Given the prevalence of cyberspace, how do you view digital technology's role in journalism management?

As mentioned above, journalism nowadays is digital journalism. Consumers access information in digital environment. Propaganda is also conducted digitally. Therefore, management must be conducted with digital technology. It is necessary to use technology to manage content.

The 13th Party Congress Resolution emphasizes the development of professional, humanistic and modern journalism. The crucial task for now is building robust media agencies to master the information front in cyberspace. Hence, journalism must use digital technology and adopt "digital policy" and "digital management."

How should press agencies apply digital technology to both ensure effectiveness in political propaganda and attract audiences?

Media organizations need to make reasonable investment based on their development orientations.

AI is changing traditional journalism production and distribution methods. It writes articles automatically, and analyzes readers’ behaviors to suggest content, and enhances the interactions with readers, as well as discovers original sources.

Meanwhile, big data analysis helps to understand users’ habits, optimize advertising, and identify trending topics online. Media organizations need to adopt these technologies to optimize the audience experience.

How can Vietnam develop a powerful digital journalism ecosystem? Is integrating media with technology the answer?

Party Chief To Lam, in his article about digital transformation, emphasized that it is a crucial driving force for developing production capacity, perfecting production relations, and bringing the country into a new development era.

He mentioned "digital production method" with strategic vision. As production method changes, the production force also had to change to adapt to objective demands. So, integrating journalism with technology is inevitable.

Trong Dat