At the recent conference to review two years of the implementation of Conclusion Report No. 162 of the Party Politburo on State Management of the Press and Propaganda work, delegates heard opinions given by sectors and media agencies on Vietnamese press activities. The notable achievements that the press recorded last year were the remarkable growth of the contingent of media workers, in terms of quantity and quality, and the rapid development of various press genre including audio, visual, printed and online newspapers.

Vietnam has nearly 620 media agencies with more than 800 publications and press products, seven major radio and television stations including two national stations and more than 600 local radio and television stations. Over the past ten years, online newspapers have developed strongly, becoming an effective tool for covering issues from economic and socio-political affairs to domestic and foreign people.

Currently, there are more than 13,000 well-trained journalists working for media agencies, and tens of thousands of collaborators and people identifying themselves with the press career or mostly living on press services.

The significant achievements gained by the press in the Doi Moi (Renovation) process over the past 20 years have been acknowledged and acclaimed by the Party, State and people. Never before has the strength of the press been demonstrated fully and vividly as at present with a host of far-reaching political activities being widely covered in the press, including the contribution of opinions to contribute opinions to the 9^th Party Central Committee’s draft political report for submission to the 10^th National Party Congress.

Revolutionary movements launched by the press with a view to encouraging people to follow the bright examples of heroic martyrs Dang Thuy Tram, Nguyen Van Thac, Hoang Thuong Lan, Nguyen Van Gia and Hoang Kim Giao have received a positive response from all sections of the population. The press has played an active role in covering the country’s important political events while detecting and combating negative phenomena. It has brought to light corruption cases related to the Project Management Unit (PMU) 18, Oil and Gas Corporation and the aviation and navigation sectors, major scandals in the State Inspection and the Ministry of Trade, as well as violations in land management in Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang and Do Son (Hai Phong). The press has greatly helped people in the world better understand the country’s correct guidelines and policies, and its tremendous renewal achievements.

The Party, the State and people have highly praised the role played by the press in social life and its substantial contributions to the country’s renovation process to boost national industrialisation and modernisation, and international integration. During the development process, the press has step by step increased financial capacity, renewed technology, improved working conditions and promoted the socialisation of activities. Notably, the Vietnamese press has actively integrated into the world press on the basis of preserving national identity and complying with the fundamental principles of the revolutionary press.

The Vietnam Journalists’ Association is a member of international organisations such as the Organisation of International Journalists (OIJ) and the ASEAN Press Federation. In recent years, Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and the Vietnam Television (VTV) have expanded coverage areas, particularly to North America, Asia and Europe to cover important political and social events at the earliest.

However, the conference also pointed out some weaknesses in press activities over the past year as media agencies lacked the cutting edge of political stance, failed to perform ideological and cultural functions of the revolutionary press well and still held subjective views on social negative phenomena while not extolling outstanding people and exemplary role models in the country’s economic and socio-political life.

In terms of press management, there is no close cooperation among media agencies in sharing sources of information. All reports presented at the conference underscored the need to reinforce the management of the press, in which raising the Party and State’s leadership and management capacity of the press is considered a key task:

First and foremost, it is essential to properly implement Party guidelines and State laws and policies on the press, and to increase the quality of political, cultural and social ideologies of every media agency to ensure the press is actually the voice of the Party and State and serves as people’s reliable forum.

It is necessary to increase close cooperation among media agencies and continue enhancing the training of reporters so that each media worker can become a vanguard in the solider in ideological and cultural field. In addition, it is important to constantly improve material and technical facilities and working conditions for media agencies, with the aim of meeting requirements for the development of the press in general, and of each genre of the press in particular.

Issues put forth at the conference will help media agencies as well as journalists better do their duties, thereby significantly contributing to the process of national construction and defense.