National Assembly (NA) Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn and Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng at a meeting with leaders of press agencies in Hà Nội on Sunday. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng and National Assembly (NA) Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn co-chaired a meeting with leaders of press agencies in Hà Nội on Sunday, ahead of the 101st anniversary of the Việt Nam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21).

Renewing mindset, approaches

Chairman Mẫn credited a high sense of responsibility from the NA, Government and relevant agencies for the legislature’s recent high-volume lawmaking. Across the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th regular sessions, the 15th NA’s extraordinary sessions, and the 16th NA’s first session, lawmakers adopted 127 laws and 36 legal resolutions.

The press has also taken a leading role in defending the Party’s ideological foundation, countering wrongful and hostile stances, and raising the volume and quality of mainstream information, contributing to a healthy, humane and responsible media environment, he said.

The top legislator praised newsrooms for renewing both their thinking and working methods to stay competitive in a volatile media landscape and amid organisational streamlining. Outlets are investing in digital technology, data platforms and modern newsroom models while cultivating multi-skilled journalists who can fight for attention in the digital era.

A wave of emotionally charged, high-impact reporting has galvanised public adherence to Party guidelines and State policies while also creating broad, democratic forums. Many pieces display real investigative value and sharp analysis

Looking ahead, he called on the press to further intensify communications around major policy directions, especially the recent messages from Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm on national development in a new era, the Party’s 10 strategic resolutions, and the two centenary goals of an upper-middle-income developing country with modern industry by 2030, and a developed, high-income nation by 2045.

Chairman Mẫn also instructed the media to stay close to the NA and Government’s activities and rapidly relay citizens’ and voters’ concerns to policymakers, thus helping improve their performance efficiency. 

While the NA has enacted numerous important laws and resolutions, the Government, ministries and agencies will issue decrees and circulars to enforce them, turning legislation into action and clearing economic, cultural and social bottlenecks for households and businesses, he said.

The press, he stressed, must keep raising the quality of its workforce in political resolve, professional competence, sense of responsibility and ethics.

He underscored the push for digital transformation, AI adoption, and the construction of professional, humane and modern press agencies that can safeguard information sovereignty in cyberspace and nurture the digital content industry. He pointed to Press Law No. 126, effective on July 1, as a critical legal foundation that will let different types of media develop more effectively and in step with the modern media economy.

Holding the ideological – cultural front

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lâm Thị Phương Thanh reported that for more than a century, Việt Nam’s revolutionary press, under the Party’s leadership, has fulfilled its pioneering mission on the ideological and cultural front, accompanying the nation’s revolutionary cause.

Media agencies, like the wider political system, are being restructured for leaner and more efficient operations. Việt Nam now counts 733 press agencies, including 98 newspapers, 597 magazines and 38 broadcasters, a reduction of 189 units, she said.

As digital technology, AI and social platforms reshape the information space, press agencies were urged to uphold accuracy and standardised reporting to remain a trusted official source for the public.

She proposed that the Government consider special mechanisms and policies for the press, including task assignment and ordering mechanisms, to help agencies enhance autonomy and content quality. She also called for continued attention to journalists’ welfare during the restructuring, with appropriate support to settle down their lives, retain talent, and secure their long-term commitment to the profession.

Press leaders put forward practical proposals on communication strategies, legal dissemination, and coverage of the NA and Government’s operations. — VNA/VNS