Making news

OANA 44: VNA contributes to Vietnam’s international integration

During more than 70 years of development, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) has grown to become a trustworthy national information centre and a prestigious news agency in the region.

The VNA has been at the forefront of the field of information-ideology, as well as served as the country’s news and photo bank, ensuring a constant flow of accurate, mainstream news for domestic and foreign press agencies, thus contributing to the guidance, management and steering of the Party and State of Vietnam.

Notably, as one of Vietnam’s main news agencies for foreign services, the VNA has left a positive impression on news coverage for major international events, including the APEC Vietnam 2017, the World Economic Forum on ASEAN 2018, and the US-DPRK Summit 2019, among others.

Delivering information on APEC Vietnam 2017 was the most important news event of the year, for which the VNA promptly devised a plan to ensure cooperation between its units, as well as prioritised personnel, infrastructure, and logistics works to maintain a steady flow of reliable information.

Following the three senior officials’ meetings (SOM) – which took place in Nha Trang city of the south central province of Khanh Hoa, Hanoi and the northern province of Ninh Binh, and Ho Chi Minh City and the southern city of Can Tho – and in particular the 2017 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in the central city of Da Nang, reporters and editors of the VNA generated more than 6,600 news products in the forms of text, photo, video, and infographics.

The news products were published on the VNA website (vnanet.vn) as well as a special website designed for APEC Vietnam 2017 (apec.vnanet.vn), providing free information for domestic and foreign reporters.

In addition, the VNA’s information was frequently updated on sections designated for the event on the websites of Tin Tuc (The News) newspaper (baotintuc.vn), Vietnam Plus (vietnamplus.vn), the Economic News Department (Bnews), and the Vnews television channel; along with the websites of foreign service publications such as Viet Nam News in English, Le Courrier du Vietnam in French, Vietnam Pictorials in Vietnamese, and various other foreign languages, as well as at the VNA’s social media platforms in Vietnamese, English, French, Spanish, and Chinese.

Alongside the prompt delivery of precise news for important events such as the 25th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, the CEO Summit, the bilateral talks of Party and Government leaders of Vietnam; visits to Vietnam made by leaders of four APEC members, including the Canadian Prime Minister, Chilean President, US President, and Chinese President, during the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting were covered in a timely and sufficient manner as planned.

In 2018, the World Economic Forum on ASEAN (WEF ASEAN 2018) was one of the most outstanding international events hosted by Vietnam. As the national news agency, the VNA covered this event through all forms of news on its channels for internal and foreign service and social network pages.

Information about the WEF ASEAN 2018 provided by the VNA met the demand of domestic and foreign press outlets and readers, truthfully reflecting the scale of one of the three biggest multilateral events held in Vietnam in the year. The other events were the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, and the concurrent sixth Greater Mekong Subregion Summit and 10th Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area Summit.

The VNA’s news departments kept an active close watch on discussions at the WEF ASEAN 2018 so as to make timely news updates on several key issues that the governments, businesses, and people of the ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, are paying attention to amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution. News stories of the VNA also emphasised Vietnam’s hosting role and thorough preparations for the event.

Another high profile event for Hanoi occurred in late February this year, which was the second summit between the US and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The successful organisation of this meeting clearly demonstrated Vietnam’s role in the international arena, while opening up opportunities to promote Vietnam as a beautiful, dynamic, and hospitable country to the international community.

To cover this summit, the VNA published some 3,800 news items and articles in different forms. Thanks to a well-built plan and clear assignment of tasks, the agency did a solid job of the communication work, thus contributing to the success of the summit’s organisation as well as the welcoming of DPRK leader Kim Jong-un for his official friendship visit to Vietnam and US President Donald Trump for his bilateral activities in the country.

The VNA received a letter of merit from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc for “having made the utmost efforts and proactively fulfilling the tasks assigned, contributing to Vietnam’s successful hosting of the second DPRK-US summit in Hanoi.”

VNA Deputy Director General Vu Viet Trang said the biggest difficulty in the coverage of this summit was that Vietnam as host and the VNA had only 10 days to make preparations, including ensuring infrastructure, security, transport, and communications works. The nearly 3,000 foreign reporters that came to Vietnam to cover the summit presented both an opportunity and challenge for the Vietnamese press, including the VNA, to learn from the experience of the world’s leading media agencies to fulfil its role as an official information provider of the host nation.

Trang added that the VNA’s Press Photography Department organised an exhibition on Vietnam-DPRK relations that featured many photos of high-ranking visits and important events in the two countries’ history of friendship and cooperation. This initiative was highly valued by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and DPRK leader Kim Jong-un, helping to create a friendly atmosphere for the bilateral meetings.

As the only English-language newspaper of Vietnam present at the International Media Centre for the second DPRK-US summit, Vietnam News made a sound impression on international reporters and readers, contributing to the promotion of the country’s land and people, as well as bringing multidimensional information to foreign reporters and editors during the event.

Vietnam News’ cover page was introduced on the CNN television channel, depicting an image of the DPRK and US leaders along with the headline “GIVE PEACE A CHANCE.”

With effective innovation in organisational structure, management mechanism, information operation, and technical equipment, the VNA is the first media agency in Vietnam to have been honoured with two heroic titles, namely Hero of the People’s Armed Forces and Hero of Labour in the reform period.

Recently, the Prime Minister approved a planning scheme for an external press system for 2020 with orientations to 2030. Accordingly, the VNA is defined as a key national press agency for external affairs with major communication products including printed newspapers and magazines, as well as e-newspapers with articles serving specific readers and areas.

The VNA always strives to develop in accordance with its orientations for 2030, while continuously expanding its delivery of news to neighbouring countries and those from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union (EU), Latin America, the US, and Japan, as well as overseas Vietnamese across the globe. The agency also makes the best use of journalistic methods and technologies to ensure efficiency in the development of foreign press.

Joining OANA in 1969, the VNA is one of the active members of the organisation. The agency has been elected as a member of the OANA Executive Board for two consecutive terms from 2013 to present.

During these years, the VNA has hosted the OANA Executive Board meetings in 1989, 1999, and 2005, making active contributions to the implementation of the organisation’s goals.

“For a professional and innovative journalism” is the theme of the 44th Meeting of the OANA Executive Board hosted by the VNA.

The event will open in Hanoi on April 19, focusing on strategies of news agencies in response to changes in information use behaviours which focus on video clips and the platform YouTube; fake news and fact-checking; and regaining trust for mainstream news.

Some 40 international delegates who are leaders and representatives of OANA member press agencies such as Azertac (Azerbaijan), ITAR-TASS (Russia), Xinhua (China), Kyodo News (Japan), Yonhap (the Republic of Korea), and AAP (Australia) will participate in the event.

The hosting of the 44th Meeting of the OANA Executive reaffirms the role of the Vietnam News Agency at the prestigious regional multilateral press forum.
VNA/VNP 


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