Managing Information Sources and Providers in the Digital Age

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (Vice Principal) delivered the opening speech at the seminar. (Photo: Thanh Long/USSH)

Attending the workshop were Associate Professor Dr. Pham Quang Minh - Vice Rector of the University, Ms. Rabea Brauer - Chief Representative of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (Germany) in Vietnam, Mr. Do Quy Doan - former Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, representatives of domestic and international news agencies and press agencies.

The workshop focused on discussing the main issues: information resource management of journalists and information activity management of information providers in the digital age. Experts, scientists, and journalists shared their opinions and professional experiences in managing and exploiting information resources to meet the increasing needs of the public.

Information sources and providers in the digital age

At the workshop, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen - Vice Head of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication said: “Sources of information always play an extremely important role in the existence and development of journalism in general, and journalists in particular. The main activities of journalists can be considered as a cycle of searching, establishing, maintaining and developing sources of information, in order to exploit information to serve the public. Sources of information are the lifeblood and vitality of journalism. In the context of increasingly fierce competition for information among various forms of mass media today, the value of sources of information for journalism is increasingly emphasized. Therefore, the management of press sources of information has become an urgent issue for newspaper editorial offices.”

The current era of internet information explosion has led to major changes in information provision. Mr. Martin Petty - Chief Representative of Reuters in Vietnam in the report "Major changes in information provision on many infrastructures/formats" emphasized: The explosion of the internet, the emergence and development of social networks have transformed the way journalists get and report news today. Journalists need to use social networks responsibly because social networks still contain too many potential risks and dangers. Journalists must ensure reliability and responsibility more than ever. In particular, the role of journalists is to verify to ensure correct and fair information.

Also discussing the issue of journalists' responsibility in verifying and identifying sources of information, Mr. Do Quy Doan - former Deputy Minister of Information and Communications said: Social media is posing challenges for traditional journalism, journalists must determine the authenticity of sources of information. And not only journalists but also managers must pay close attention, if they do not clearly identify, they will encounter mistakes and even pay the price in the practice of journalism. Therefore, the core issue now is the need to innovate the information provision mechanism.

Regarding issues related to information providers, many reports at the conference introduced news service models, production processes, and the development of information and communication technology in the digital age, such as: the presentation "Vietnam News Agency as an administrative and information providing unit in the digital age" by journalist Nguyen Hoai Duong - Deputy General Director of Vietnam News Agency; "Tnsnap" - The future of Thanh Nien newspaper" - journalist Do Hung - Deputy General Secretary of ThanhNien Online newspaper;...

Information resource management – ​​“opportunities and challenges”

Managing information sources in the digital age is a topical topic for journalists today. Journalist Nguyen Thi Thu Ha - Head of Good Morning, News Department, Vietnam Television said: Never before has a multi-dimensional, diverse, time-based and spatially deep source of information been as easy to exploit as it is today. The information repository is the same, only the selection and editing methods are different. However, the biggest challenge is not the input of the information source but the output of the newspaper, not only the printed newspaper but also the visual newspaper today is facing fierce competition from information sources on the internet.

The way journalists treat sources of information also depends on their reliability, so journalist Nguyen Thi Thu Ha has divided sources of information into three levels:

+ Level 1 is official, reliable sources from authorities

+ Level 2 are responsible sources, or comments from individuals who are experts and reputable organizations

+ Level 3 is other sources of information on social networks or forums.

Analyzing current international hot spots, Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies of Foreign Affairs (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) pointed out that the challenges for journalists in obtaining and processing information are: information noise; the level and awareness of news recipients; the increasing trend of reading unofficial news; increasing non-stateness, decreasing national and ideological factors; the influence of the West; the increasing number of news agencies...

Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong - Head of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication - analyzed the model of radio broadcasting on mobile phones using 3G technology of Viettel Radio, showing that radio broadcasting using 3G technology is a new direction with potential for development in Vietnam but also contains many potential risks in information dissemination activities. In Vietnam, there is currently no law that defines Mobile Radio as journalism.

The opinions of journalists and scientists all agree that in the digital age, managing information sources and information providers is a scientific and current issue, attracting the attention of press managers in general and journalists in particular. Press and media agencies must change their approach and information provision methods. To do that, they need to soon build information provision mechanisms for journalists' activities.