State President Luong Cuong meets with veteran and outstanding journalists on June 20. (Photo: VNA)  

State President Luong Cuong chaired a meeting in Hanoi on June 20 to honour 150 veteran and outstanding journalists nationwide, a day before the 100th anniversary of the Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925 - 2025).

Member of the Party Central Committee and Standing Vice Chairman of its Commission for Information, Education and Mass Mobilisation Lai Xuan Mon delivered a report tracing the origin of Vietnam’s revolutionary press on June 21, 1925 when leader Nguyen Ai Quoc, later known as President Ho Chi Minh, founded Thanh Nien, a newspaper pivotal in laying the ideological and organisational groundwork for the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) established in 1930.

Since then, the Vietnamese revolutionary press has experienced a century of remarkable growth, making profound and lasting contributions to the nation’s struggle for independence, reunification, and development.

According to the official, the honoured journalists represent nearly 41,000 media professionals nationwide, who are tirelessly working to inform the public and uphold the truth in service of the people.

He stressed that in the new development era, Vietnam’s press needs a total makeover in terms of content, technology, staff, and operations to keep up with changes in today’s media world.

In his address, President Cuong expressed his profound gratitude to more than 500 journalists - martyrs, including over 260 of the Vietnam News Agency, who sacrificed their lives for the revolutionary cause. He also paid tribute to thousands of late journalists whose valuable works have helped create the abundance of the Vietnamese press, as well as beloved President Ho Chi Minh who founded the Vietnamese revolutionary press.

Under the leadership of President Ho Chi Minh and the CPV, President Cuong said, the press has been a steadfast force on the ideological and cultural front, rallying the masses to pursue national aspirations. He credited journalists for playing a critical role in Vietnam’s historic achievements.

The State leader called on journalists to maintain their political mettle, professional ethics, and dedication to their profession while staying closely connected to the people.

The press must embrace the inevitable trends of development, proactively and resolutely pursuing comprehensive and synchronous innovation. The goal is to produce content that reflects the pulse of the times - creative in format, bold in expression, and adapted to the modern media trend, while steadily moving toward a new model of journalism in the digital era, he said.

The President asked central and local agencies to work together to fine-tune policies and mechanisms that allow journalists to make a living from their profession, love their profession, and feel secure to devote to their profession. He also stressed the importance of continuing training, support, and recognition, especially for passionate, dedicated and young journalists, so that they could become "revolutionary soldiers on the ideological and cultural front"./.