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“Forging a Robust and Trustworthy Alliance Between the Press and Businesses.”

25 October, 2024

On October 24, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Central Propaganda and Education Commission, and the Vietnam Journalists Association, organized the second forum on “The Press and Enterprises: Together for a Prosperous and Happy Vietnam” in 2024 with the theme “Improving the Quality of Information on Economics and Enterprises in the Press.”

MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP FOR GROWTH

In his opening remarks, Mr. Pham Tan Cong, President of VCCI, once again emphasized the role of the media and press as an integral part of the overall business environment in Vietnam. A healthy media and press environment disseminates information and knowledge about economics, business activities, and encourages a spirit of entrepreneurship in society. This is a crucial requirement and the foundation for promoting the development of enterprises, inspiring a culture of business in society, and contributing to the country’s economic growth.

Mr. Pham Tan Cong, President of VCCI: “The role of the press and media in inspiring and ignering the spirit of entrepreneurship is extremely important.”

Improving the quality and effectiveness of information, propaganda, and education about economics, enterprises, and entrepreneurs, while ensuring objectivity and honesty, will encourage a culture of entrepreneurship in society, limit negative phenomena, and prevent inaccurate information from affecting businesses. This will contribute significantly to creating a favorable, safe, and equitable business environment and building a modern, professional, and humane press.

To achieve the country’s development goals by 2030 and vision for 2045, VCCI believes that it is necessary to strongly inspire a spirit of business in society and among the business community, igniting the aspiration to contribute to bringing our country into a “new era – the era of the Vietnamese nation’s rise,” Mr. Cong emphasized. Therefore, the role of the press and media in inspiring and igniting the spirit of entrepreneurship is of utmost importance.

Mr. Le Quoc Minh, President of the Vietnam Journalists Association, stated that in the past, the press has made significant contributions to the development of Vietnamese enterprises. Through the press, consumers have become more aware of Vietnamese brands and products. This has helped raise awareness, love, and trust in Vietnamese products, supporting the growth of domestic businesses.

Mr. Le Quoc Minh, President of the Vietnam Journalists Association: “The press has made significant contributions to the development of Vietnamese enterprises.”

The press also serves as a channel for reflecting information from society and domestic consumers to enterprises, helping businesses grasp market information comprehensively and make appropriate business policy decisions and strategies.

From another perspective, the press has been and continues to be an effective and timely bridge between enterprises and the state. Through the press, government agencies have an additional channel to listen to the opinions of businesses in a timely and comprehensive manner.

Not only a channel for propagating new state policies, but the press, with its role in recording enterprise information, also becomes an independent voice, helping enterprises respond to policies and express their wishes and realities. In this role, the press has been and remains an effective channel of information for the economy, helping state policies keep pace with economic developments more effectively.

SOMETIMES, THE INTERESTS OF THE PRESS AND ENTERPRISES MAY NOT ALIGN

At all times, the relationship between the press and enterprises is one of mutual development. However, along with the achievements, Mr. Minh also frankly acknowledged some limitations, such as a lack of depth in reporting on enterprises, leading to incomplete and sometimes inaccurate information. The press has also not fully exploited its potential in supporting enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.

On the other hand, with many other ways to reach users, many enterprises have gradually underestimated the role of the press and even neglected it in their brand communication campaigns. In reality, if the mainstream press encounters difficulties and weakens, businesses will be significantly affected.

Sharing this view, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Lam, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, said that the recent development of social media has brought many other choices for brand promotion and information dissemination. However, the mainstream information channel remains the press.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Lam, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications: “Society and the world need responsible media, and the press alone cannot do this.”

In the journey of serving society and the people, the interests of the press and enterprises may not always align, which can reduce trust among readers and build a relationship that is not based on transparency and honesty.

Many large-scale enterprises have not paid much attention to communication and image building, leading to transactions between enterprises and the press as isolated cases, reducing attractiveness and effectiveness.

Meanwhile, a part of the press tends to look at issues from a negative perspective, creating pressure on enterprises and putting pressure on management agencies to investigate and handle false and unverified information.

Along with businesses that have a good relationship with the press and a long-term vision, there are still many businesses that lack sufficient and proper investment, often aiming for short-term group interests, making the press-business relationship potentially complicated and skewed.

Therefore, according to Mr. Lam, if we only think of the press as a channel for advertising products and services or as a nuisance, the relationship will be very awkward. Society and the world need responsible media, and the press alone cannot achieve this.

FINDING SOLUTIONS TO REDETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP

Standing at a new era for the country with new opportunities and conditions for development, Mr. Lam believes that for the press and enterprises to move forward together for a prosperous and happy Vietnam, it is necessary to find solutions to redefine the press-business relationship on a stronger and more transparent foundation to increase mutual expectations.

At the same time, the press and enterprises need to coordinate to enhance social responsibility by jointly supporting the provision of good products and services, including investing appropriately in information services to deliver high-quality products.

Along with this, both sides must find each other’s deficiencies and compensate for them through other forms of cooperation, not just a relationship of “bothering each other” or “one side thinking the other is more important.”

Mr. Pham Van The, Chairman of the Quang Ninh Provincial Business Association, emphasized the undeniable role of the press in supporting the development of enterprises. Therefore, businesses expect a transparent and healthy relationship with the press, without being put in a difficult position due to unnecessary financial requirements. Ensuring professionalism in the process of working with businesses will help build trust and maintain a long-term and effective cooperative relationship.

According to Ms. Dang Thi Phuong Thao, Deputy Director of the Press Department, Ministry of Information and Communications, journalists writing about economics should have in-depth knowledge in this field. In addition to using their reporters, the press should also utilize a system of experts for evaluation and feedback. Along with this, there should be transparency and authenticity of economic information in the newspaper, as even a single piece of misleading information can have significant consequences for businesses.

Enterprises, on the other hand, need to be equipped with knowledge about press interactions to be able to propose appropriate solutions and cooperate with the press to provide official and accurate information.