Readers ranging from foreign diplomats to local businesspeople - and expats falling
somewhere in between — all have their own reasons for reading Viet Nam News.

Ha Chan Ho, senior strategic advisor to Samsung Electronics Vietnam

I have been living in Viet Nam for more than four years, and I have been reading Viet Nam News every day.

I usually start with the front page, followed by the national and business sections as well as lifestyles. If I had more time, I would read all the pages. I found that by reading Viet Nam News daily, I can understand more about Viet Nam and get all the information I need about the country. I feel that this newspaper has become a very important part of my daily life.

Việt Nam has a lot of newspapers and television networks. But there are not many English media outlets. Việt Nam News is the only national English daily newspaper.

The foreign community in Việt Nam is getting bigger, and I believe that they need more information about Việt Nam. Due to the great demand, I believe that it would be better to dedicate more pages to news in Việt Nam. Hopefully, Việt Nam News will increase its pages, and many foreigners will be happy to read Việt Nam News to get information.

I can say again that Việt Nam News has become an important part of my life. Sometimes it is more important than my wife. Happy 25^th anniversary to Việt Nam News!

Juan Zaratiegui

Juan Zaratiegui, political adviser at the EU delegation

Việt Nam News is the first thing I read every day. It’s the best source of official news and analysis in Viêt Nam, and a very important tool for my everyday work. English language newspapers such as Việt Nam News are instrumental for diplomats posted in foreign countries who do not master the local language, such as me. In our job, we have to be up to date with the latest news in the country, and Việt Nam News is a valuable source of information.

The opinion section is a very interesting way to better understand the national debate and priorities. The cultural section, Life & Style, is also very useful for foreigners to get an idea of what to do after a long day’s work.

I would like to see more political news, with more details about the participation of the Vietnamese people in the country’s government at local and national levels. An expat like me gets his information on what is happening in the world from international media and the internet. Việt Nam News is one of my few sources on domestic news, so it would be much more useful if Việt Nam News reported more domestic information and had more coverage of activities in Vietnamese society - not only the government of business.

I would include a transparency/participation section, where everyday persons, including expats, could write about their experiences, problems, denounce corruption cases and express their opinions.

Masuda Chikahiro, Japanese, Hà Nội

I have been reading Việt Nam News for over two years now, ever since I first came to Việt Nam. The opinion column is my favourite because I can always refer to the leaders’ and experts’ opinions. They always impress and stimulate me.

When I read the news about a Vietnamese man who tested negative for Ebola in 2014, I was amazed and wanted to share the news with people around me. Despite the fact that it is not easy to diagnose that virus, Vietnamese officials were able to deal with it promptly. That kind of remarkable healthcare made every person in Việt Nam feel at ease.

I like reading the headlines because they easily catch my attention with neat titles and colourful pictures, and I can instantly learn about the content.

I think the coverage of Việt Nam News is comprehensive except for the articles about Japanese sports.

If you could add more coloured pictures, the articles would be more attractive and persuasive. Also, dare I say that the lack of competitors against Việt Nam News might limit its chance to grow. A fair competitive environment would help improve the quality of Việt Nam News. I always expect newspapers to be fair, objective, quick and accurate with evidence.

Mikio Masawaki

Mikio Masawaki, General Director of Sapporo Viet Nam

To date, I’ve been staying and working in Việt Nam for nearly two years. As a Japanese expat, I often read news bulletins in both Japanese and English. As for English, I usually read Việt Nam News.

The reason I chose Việt Nam News is because it’s a paper that has everything, from current affairs to lifestyles, from local to international news. I often cannot spend too much time reading newspapers, so I chose a paper that covers various types of news and updates; therefore, I can catch up with the news efficiently.

Besides columns about business, investment or finance that I, a businessman, cannot miss, I’m very interested in columns about culture and arts, as well as cuisine, especially articles about Vietnamese food and recommendations on where to eat. I love Vietnamese food and often use my free time to explore the cuisine culture here.

In the future, I hope Việt Nam News will create a special section in the paper for foreigners to learn Vietnamese. I would love to read a section with short, quick and easy Vietnamese lessons (common words, phrases, sentences, idioms) for foreign readers - for example, a Word of the Day or something like that. This will help readers learn and relax at the same time.

Nguyễn Quang Tuấn, marketing manager, Viettel M1

My work requires me to read lots of newspapers every day. In addition to other local newspapers and magazines, I often take a look at Việt Nam News because it’s a good channel for current information. Việt Nam News provides me with different points of view about both international and local events and matters. For example, the scope of a matter is usually broader, and the details seem to be deeply analysed, moreso than the local news. Moreover, the polished English also gives me a good chance to study my language skills. To me, Việt Nam News is a good source of information.

I think the effort that reporters put into each article makes them worth reading. The depth and thoughtfulness they put into the details, facts and figures makes the articles a good source of reference.

Since Việt Nam News targets foreigners and expats living in Việt Nam. I would suggest that the Việt Nam News team writes more interesting articles on entertainment, culture, travelling, cuisine, and hints and tips to help foreigners view our country as a cool destination. Please take a look at Heritage, a good example of introducing Vietnamese culture to the world.

Nowadays, online news is important, as well. But I find Việt Nam News’ current website rather boring and poor in its interface. Please put effort into Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) so that when foreigners research Việt Nam, your website will be at the top of their search engines. Also, there should be updates about promotions, sales or something that can attract readers and advertisers to your website, as well.

Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Phương

Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Phương, an official in HMC City

I love the Op-Ed/Your Say section of Việt Nam News the best.

Up to now, there have been many news pages available for readers of different ages. However, most articles in print and online are copied from each other; only the title changes, and the content is quite passive. Thus, it would be a key selling point for a newspaper if it can trigger interactions and spark discussions among readers.

I notice that Việt Nam News has already invested in this category, but it has not been strong and appealing enough to compete with other newspapers/magazines. I do hope that from now on, Việt Nam News will pay more attention to Op-Ed/Your Say and diversify the content by asking for contributions - not only from Vietnamese, but also foreign writers to give our readers a more objective and more interesting outlook from different angles. — VNS