Industry and Trade Review presents a cross-cutting media

Editor-in-Chief Nguyen Huu Quy (left) and reporters of the Industry and Trade Review at the APEC 2017 Summit Week in the central city of Da Nang

In recent years, electronic newspapers using technology platforms and the internet have been gradually overtaking the traditional press, given its speed, flexibility and almost endless platforms and space. One can also access information anywhere and at any time with an internet-connected device like a smart phone.

This technological media revolution has changed Vietnamese media, too. Over the past several years, newspaper outlets of all sizes have invested in electronic media to create cross-platform, multimedia journalism that incorporates text, photo, video, audio and interactivity with readers.

Responding to that general trend, the Editorial Board of the Industry and Trade Review decided to adopt multimedia as its main avenue of future development. In keeping with this decision, the Industry and Trade Review has developed a systematic plan that includes developing a studio, buying cutting-edge equipment and editorial staff training.

Shortly after the plan was launched, in mid-June 2016, the Industry and Trade Review posted its first online reportage video, which was followed by a growing number of online policy dialogues, industry and trade newsletters, and news videos, among others. Online publications included a conversation on startups with the former Israeli Ambassador to Vietnam, and a program on “education, training and recruitment of industry and trade training facilities in the 2016-2017 academic year” with the participation of rectors of leading industry and trade universities. Other multimedia features include publications about cigarette smuggling and Vietnamese retail systems, interviews with the Indonesian and Korean ambassadors to Vietnam on bilateral trade issues, reports on administrative reform, border trade, mineral mining, and local farm produce promotion, among others.

Information content is increasingly rich and diverse, not only reflecting the country’s important political events but also issues of public interest under the purview of the Ministry of Industry and Trade including administrative reform, industrial operations, energy security, market management, smuggling prevention, control of fraudulent trade and counterfeit and substandard goods, trade promotion, market expansion, import and export, free trade agreements, and the Buy Vietnamese Goods campaign.

While the format of its information has become more varied and professional, the Industry and Trade Review adheres to the guidelines and policies of the party, the state, the government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The number of reader views on the main website of the Industry and Trade Review baocongthuong.com.vn has increased within a few short years from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands. Readers, among them state officials, researchers, economists and business people inside and outside Vietnam have provided positive feedback on the Review and all of its affiliated print and online publications. Their recognition is a valuable reward for the editorial board and all reporters and editors of the Industry and Trade Review. It encourages the newspaper to strive further to meet readers’ growing demand and increasingly sophisticated requirements.

Along with investment in technical infrastructure and advanced management software, the Industry and Trade Review has continued operational restructuring in accordance with development demands, including restructuring of representative offices and improving the quality of staff correspondents, among others.

Editor-in-Chief Nguyen Huu Quy said development of newsroom convergence or multimedia, which embraces radio, television, print, photo, video, and infographics media, requires development of different skills and methods of writing, editing and publishing. Human resources play a very important role in adapting to fast-changing trends and directions and improving operations in the context of a changing media environment, he said.

The new context requires journalists, especially reporters, to adapt to new concepts such as multitasking, to requirements of speed and immediacy, to new equipment, and more. It is no longer enough for reporters to know how to write – they also have to know how to develop scripts, film video, react to talkbacks and comment, serve as moderators or even as talk show hosts and/or producers.

The development of a multimedia newsroom not only helps reporters become more active and responsible for their work but also increases the solidarity of the newspaper’s member units.

Although much remains to be done, with its achievements, the Industry and Trade Review will continue to overcome difficulties and bring into play the collective strength to become one of the fastest, truest and most reliable official information channels that meet readers’ growing demand and increasingly sophisticated requirements in the context of international integration.