Hanoi (VNA) 𒊎– A new era of digital media, digital technology, technological convergence, and content convergence has taken shape and is growing strongly. In that context, the model of “digital newsrooms” has become an inevitable trend of press agencies. Content and technological convergence is considered the key to opening up new operations for modern journalists and newsrooms.

So said Le Quoc Minh, member of the Party Central Committee, Vice Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education, President of the Vietnam Journalists Association and Editor-in-chief of the Nhan Dan (People) newspaper, at a workshop on technology application to digital newsroom governance held in Hanoi on August 17.

“Technology helps us keep up to date”

Minh said newsrooms in the digital era are facing a number of challenges related to competition with social media platforms and online services, traditional business models being replaced by new ones, the seeking of opportunities to access and retain the public, and the maintenance of readers’ trust. Amid the boom of science and technology, the media sector is changing towards utilizing new technologies. The public now has the right to enjoy high-quality content products to meet the need for reading, watching, and listening in the digital space. To do that, newsrooms governance must be truly effective. Therefore, press agencies need “integration” and “convergence” in terms of both content and forms of publication to keep up with technological advances, he noted. Effective and appropriate technology application is important to Vietnamese press agencies to fulfill their role as the organs of the Party and State, and forums of the public, the official went on, adding that technology helps us keep up to date. Minh said that the development of “digital newsrooms” will give a comprehensive facelift to the press. Particularly, it will help press agencies continue making strong reforms, follow reality more closely, stay updated with information and events, and orient public opinions towards objectivity and accuracy.

Dependence on technology doesn’t necessarily mean effectiveness

Experts shared the view on the importance of “digital newsrooms” and suggested many practical measures to reform activities of existing newsrooms and apply the “digital newsroom” model to press agencies in the country. Assoc. Prof. Dr Do Thi Thu Hang, head of the professional affairs division of the Vietnam Journalists Association, pointed out that digital platforms and tools need to be accompanied by human resources capable of making these things work well. This issue is critical to press agencies during the transformation from traditional journalism to a digital landscape. Dr Tran Quang Dieu, Director of the IT application centre at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, agreed on the advantages of applying artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technologies but also warned that if they are not prudent, press agencies may fall victim to reducing the quality of their work in favor of technology. He said it is necessary to have a detailed digital transformation roadmap to improve the efficiency and quality of press agency activities, and devise a legal corridor to ensure their advertising activities are substantive and effective. For his part, Le Xuan Trung, Deputy Editor-in-chief of the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, said the model of converged newsrooms meets the demand of multimedia journalism, particularly e-newspapers, but also increases workload. The most feasible solution is that newsrooms must maximise technology, optimise equipment, adjust the publication processes, and conduct digital transformation in a way that matches their goals and development strategies. By doing so, converged newsrooms will become digital newsrooms, ensuring the capitalisation of existing resources in a more methodological and efficient manner, Trung added./.