Summary of doctoral thesis in journalism studies professional vietnamese journalists’ contemporary qualities approaching from the perspective of ho chi minh

Ministry of Education and Training Hochiminh Academy of National Politics Academy of Journalism and Communication NGUYỄN THÙY VÂN ANH PROFESSIONAL VIETNAMESE JOURNALISTS’ CONTEMPORARY

Ministry of Education and Training Hochiminh Academy of National Politics

Academy of Journalism and Communication

NGUYỄN THÙY VÂN ANH

PROFESSIONAL VIETNAMESE JOURNALISTS’ CONTEMPORARY

QUALITIES - APPROACHING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HO CHI MINH

Professional : Journalism Major : Journalism Code : 9 32 01 01

SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS IN JOURNALISM STUDIES

HÀ NỘI – 2019

The thesis is completed at Academy of Journalism and Propaganda

Instructor:

Associate Professor PhD Nguyễn Văn Dững

Thesis Committee member 1: Associate Professor Ph.D Đinh Văn Hường

Thesis Committee member 2: Associate Professor PhD Đỗ Chí Nghĩa

Thesis Committee member 3: PhD Nguyễn Tuấn Phong

The thesis could be searched at: National Library, Academy of Journalism and Communication Library - Hochiminh Academy of National Politics

INTRODUCTION

1 The urgency of the topic

Overall, the world’s press in recent decades has been volatile, reflecting the global situation in a multi-colored picture Journalism in developed countries like the United States, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, are entangled in national and international issues, heading in the direction of symbiosis, spreading along with social networks (social media), accelerating the power of community opinion in social monitoring and criticism against major national policy decisions in international relations

Recently, it can be seen that the US press in the 2016 presidential election has appeared with unpredictable metamorphosis, driven by group interests, which contradicts the traditional journalism practice - professionalism, objectivity and honesty in information on domestic issues Unlike some countries, professional journalists in the United States are not allowed to join the political party, to show "professionalism" in the information However, American media, generally in the campaign, are obviously swept into the group interest of the candidates, while, in international affairs, the country's press has more diverse information, in which critical elements for path-finding become clearer

The European press is significantly different from the American one, for the diversity in angles when demonstrating the EU, NATO situation as well as regional and world issues, of which the most obvious is information of the Ukrainian crisis, Middle East conflict - North Africa Regarding issues within internal EU, the continent's press has shown embarrassment in the development trend, especially Brexit, immigration issues or relations with Russia; including the Middle East - North Africa

Overall, there is still a flow of information that cannot be overlooked is the flow

of Russian opinion of all over Europe, especially the United States Thus, even though we consider ourselves "objective, honest", Western newspapers are always drawn into political trends and currents of political forces The American press is "stuck" between the power crisis of the two parties - Democrat and Republican, between the Democratic Party and President D Trump, since the 2016 election

Right next to us, the Chinese press has always made itself as political and pioneer leadership tools of the Party of China in domestic and foreign issues However, at the same time, the nationalistic journalism in this press always shows the "tone" of "contemporary Chinese characteristics", which is aggressive and supercilious in the style of "highway hero ”

Thus, through a general overview of the world’s press and some other countries, raised questions: Who is a professional journalist and what motivates them to work? In other words, the model of journalistic career or viewpoints on contemporary journalist quality both expresses the traditional, regional or indigenous characteristics in such a clear way, whether in developing or developed countries, in Europe - America or Asia

In Vietnam, during the period of reform, the Vietnamese press has made considerable accomplishments, contributing significantly to the success of the national development and international integration The Vietnamese press has experienced a rapid growth in terms of quantity, types, publications, staffing, audience, infrastructure facilities, press technology, financial capacity and expanding social impact Topical events and news are up-to-date minute by minute, Worrying issues, citizens’ opinion have been addressed by the press, attracting the social resources with the participation of institutions and systems, deservedly representing the voice of the people, a bridge connecting Vietnam with international friends, becoming the critical tool in national branding and positive image of Vietnam on the global stage

Today, thanks to the influence of the scientific and technological revolution in the world, the communication environment changes rapidly; In particular, digital technology serves as a cornerstone and increasingly dominate the characteristics of this environment Like fish need to adapt to the water environment, contemporary newspapers in general and Vietnamese newspapers

in particular are changing in accordance with the new media environment On the other hand, in this new media environment, their journalists and practitioners are also posing problems both in terms of advantages and challenges In addition, the fast-growing social media are attracting residents and pulling user community into its forum and influence

Communication environment is changing Technology is changing The public and press market share are changing Professional activities of professional journalists and citizenship journalists are changing Every human behavior in the society is changing In particular, political mindset and activities are changing, making the social machine no longer the same A recent issue, in May

2018, the National Assembly session of XIV prepared to pass the Bill on Special Administrative Region - Economic, as a legal corridor to develop 3 Van Don special zones (Quang Ninh) , Phu Quoc (Kien Giang) and Van Phong (Khanh Hoa) The story seemed just to wait for the National Assembly to press the button, and immediately social media are flared with social criticisms, mainly opposed to this bill Meanwhile, our "mainstream press" has hardly any voices - because as the communication department of the organization, when the organization has not turned on "green light", the press has to keep silent

So, to awaken, convey to the public who counteracts special economic zone between 2018, on the occasion of the National Assembly session being conducted, the main and only focus is social media This is an issue that needs attention of the communication department of socio-political organizations, which is the issue that needs to be researched about the role of journalism and journalists in the current communication environment; including the notion of professional quality of journalists in Vietnam in particular, in the world in general

Therefore, the notion of professional quality of journalists is either changing according to the spiral of socio-economic issues in the new media and context;

or need studying under the perspective of journalist career qualities, with a new theory; operating in combination and inheriting tradition - modernity horizontally and vertically On the other hand, the reality shows that the press approach needs to be more diversified - the press is not only a political - ideological tool, but also a constructive social institution - in accordance with the Prime Minister's message Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated whether it was necessary to build a constructive government

In this context, the role of the journalist - the topics revolving around journalistic activities become even more important Who are they and need to be? Are they just soldiers on the ideological-cultural front, the impulse to lead the revolutionary career of the Party? Or are they social mobilizers, connecting communities in close relationships with newspapers and social media? So, with journalists in the new media environment, do they need to be campaigners and communicators to be able to complete social titles and social responsibilities?

It can be said that the press of the contemporary world in general and the Vietnamese press in particular have been posing both basic and urgent issues related to journalists and professional quality of journalists needing to study Save it seriously Therefore, studying the professional quality of Vietnamese journalists in the current context is an urgent task

On the other hand, because of the nature of the journalistic nature that is closely related to politics, it is difficult for journalists to have a quality of professionalism that separates the political and indigenous culture of each country

In order to contribute to the understanding of the issue of professional quality journalists, graduate students choose this research problem, with an approach

from the basis of Ho Chi Minh thought perspective; perhaps it is a new approach but suitable for Vietnamese circumstances and conditions

Ho Chi Minh is the former president and outstanding leader of the Vietnamese Communist Party and the contemporary Vietnamese revolution Ho Chi Minh left thousands of press works with not only valuable content, but also artistic value to revolutionize newspapers From the practical experience of the activity,

he summarized and generalized and raised the values imagined in the press works themselves from events and current affairs And he left the ideology as a torch to enlighten and encompass the revolution of Vietnam, continuing to serve

as a guideline for development In particular, there is Ho Chi Minh thought about journalism in general and journalists' professional qualities in particular President Ho Chi Minh was the founder of the revolutionary press in Vietnam and also a great journalist His journalistic career was closely linked to the revolutionary cause He often considers the media and journalists as part of the revolutionary cause, a sharp weapon in the struggle for revolution Growing up from the revolutionary process, he became an exemplary professional journalist, creating a unique Ho Chi Minh style of journalism In his opinion, the professional qualities of journalists are reflected in politics, fighting, party and scientific nature, ethical style, artistic lifestyle using the language, presentation

in the working process In order to fulfill their glorious tasks, journalists need

to cultivate revolutionary qualities, firmly grasping the policy and guidelines of the Party and the Government; closer to reality and to the mass These professional qualities, according to Ho Chi Minh's thought, are the thread of red throughout his view of journalists It is important to adopt and promote those ideas in order to become a fighter on the cultural front, facing extremely complex situations in the present real world Therefore, it is the right direction

to study to deeply appreciate the views of Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on journalists, to understand the current situation of Vietnamese journalists in order

to specify and build the professional qualities of journalists in the period of promoted industrialization and modernization of the country

Since the Seventh Congress (6 -1991), our Party has always affirmed Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s Thought is the foundation of thought and the guideline for the action of the Party and the people of Vietnam The X, XI, and XII Legislatures requested "holding campaigns on Learning and Following Ho Chi Minh's Moral Example, to show that researching, propagating, learning and following Ho Chi Minh's moral example is of considerable necessity, also one

Marxism-of the important tasks Marxism-of the Party's ideological, theoretical and media work, meeting urgent and essential requirements It holds a long-term meaning for the revolutionary cause of the Party and our people

All the above reason considered, the topic of professional qualities of Vietnamese journalists - approaching from the point of view of Ho Chi Minh’s perspective is high in practicality, urgency and topicality

Ho Chi Minh's perspective is a system, bringing together his basic views on each field of activity, as well as the basic qualities of the subject in each of these areas of activity Therefore, approaching from the Ho Chi Minh ideological point of view about professional quality of journalists, it can be understood that from the basic point of view in Ho Chi Minh's thought about journalists' professional quality will be studied as the focus of this thesis

2 The hypothesis of the research

From this way of address, there comes the following hypothesis:

Firstly, in the current situation of changing media and press environment, how

is the issue of professional quality of journalists in the world and in Vietnam? And what does this recognition mean for contemporary practice - professional practice of journalists?

Secondly, in which of his writings did Ho Chi Minh raise the basic points of view on the journalist's quality of career? And what do these views mean in the perception and behavior of contemporary Vietnamese journalists?

Thirdly, on the basis of Ho Chi Minh's ideological views on journalistic quality, whether to model Vietnamese journalists' professional qualities, as well as contribute to perfecting it through reality is moving with the influence of the new media environment, in the context of Vietnam integrating into the globalization process?

Fourthly, the realization of the professional quality model of Vietnamese contemporary journalists is setting out what requirements, conditions and solutions to optimize the journalists' operating capacity in the current conditions now on?

3 Purposes and objectives

3.1 Purposes

In the thesis, the theoretical framework is built for the professional qualities of journalists approaching from the point of view of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology On that basis, we carry out survey on the situation, analyze the problems posed and propose solutions to make a contribution to improving the theoretical and practical model of contemporary Vietnamese journalistic profession, as well as

realizing it to contribute to optimizing the current capacity of Vietnamese journalists, as well as in the future

• Systematize relevant theoretical issues, Marxist, Angeren and Leninist views

on research issues - the professional qualities of journalists;

• Develop a theoretical framework for journalists' professional qualities of journalists from the perspective of Ho Chi Minh (HCM) This is considered the most important task of this project

• Conduct actual survey of awareness, attitudes and behaviors of Vietnamese journalists on the basis of ideological viewpoint of HCM on the professional qualities of journalists; which is acceptable and unacceptable

• Propose the current model of professional qualities of Vietnamese journalists’ development under Ho Chi Minh's ideology in the context of new media environment, new circumstances and conditions of the national development process in globalization and international integration;

• Propose conditions and solutions to ensure the realization of this model; make scientific recommendations to improve and realize the current model of the professional qualities of journalists in Vietnam according to HCM ideology;

• The thesis also proposes the following feasible research directions on the professional qualities of journalists in Vietnam

4 Subjects and scope of research

4.1 The subject of research

The subject of research is the issue of professional qualities of Vietnamese journalists with an approach from the point of view of Ho Chi Minh

4.2 Scope and survey respondents

* Research scope of the topic

Content: From the Party's point of view, "Ho Chi Minh's thought is a comprehensive and profound system of views on the fundamental issues of the Vietnamese revolution", so the topic is only limited to important research basic

points in Ho Chi Minh's thought about journalist qualities; on the basis of surveying the status of Vietnamese journalists' qualities; based on the basic views in Ho Chi Minh's thought that proposed models and conditions to completely build and perfect the model of professional Vietnamese journalists' contemporary qualities

Time: The time restriction is set from 2001 to present because this is the time of the 9th Congress (April 2001, when our Party gave a full definition of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology and issued Directive 23 (3/2003) on "Promoting, researching, propagating and educating about Ho Chi Minh’s Thought"; The X and the XI legislatures had both Directives (06 and 03) on "Organizing the Campaign" to study and follow Ho Chi Minh's moral example The issue of professional quality of journalists in the socialist-oriented market economy has become a deeply social concern, attracting more attention from the society

The subjects of the survey:

- The first group, surveys on Ho Chi Minh's works to systemize his views and ideas on the professional qualities of journalists This group of subjects is Ho Chi Minh Collection (mainly 15 volumes, the National Political Publishing House, 2011); monographs, research topics, scientific articles published in the past 10 years

- The second group, surveys on perceptions, attitudes and behaviors of Vietnamese journalists on the professional qualities of journalists following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, to describe the realistic picture of the professional qualities of journalists in Vietnam today

5 Theoretical background and research methodology

5.1 Theoretical background

The thesis is studied based on the theoretical basis:

Firstly, foreign views and theories about journalism and state prevention and control This issue is mainly shown in the research overview of the thesis

Secondly, the viewpoint of Marxist-Lenin about the professional qualities of journalists, from the viewpoint, concept, concept, structure, criteria system to the influencing factors

Thirdly, the views of Ho Chi Minh thought on journalism and state prevention and control; Next is the views of the Communist Party of Vietnam on press and the professional qualities of journalists

Fourth, a number of specialized journalism-media theory, in which the notions

of its active subject - the journalist These theories can be approached in a number of Vietnamese journalistic works published in the past ten years1

To carry out the research tasks appropriate for time and situation above in order

to achieve the research objectives of the thesis suitable to specific condition and issue, we use the following research methodology:

- Method of document research, which may be called as theoretical research, used to study research related to the professional qualities of journalists and to systematize theoretical issues and designate theoretical framework for the issue

of journalistic qualities in the view of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology

- Methods of collecting quantitative information, including:

+ Interview and Questionnaire Anket method: This is the main method of the thesis It is used for questionnaire survey with 400 journalists on the professional qualities of Vietnamese journalists nowadays to support and clarify the conclusion The results obtained in the in-depth interview method serve as a practical basis for the research This method seeks to understand the real picture

of the journalists' awareness, attitude and behavior following the professional qualities of journalists Regarding the questionnaires, we base on the selected sample, based on actual conditions and current press appearance

- Statistical classification method: It is used for statistics and classification of violation cases in the professional qualities of journalists in the surveyed time and places To conduct this method, we base on document of press management organization (Breau of Journalism, Ministry of Information and Communication) together with reviewing on some related resource, especially

“Journalist & Public discussion” Newspaper

- Methods of collecting qualitative information, including:

- The in-depth interview method was used to interview 17 journalists working

in different newspapers In-depth interviews were conducted in a group of news agencies that selected the survey anket, including job positions in the press agency - from the Editorial Board, professional departments and departments;

At the same time, the author also interviewed the authorities in the leadership and press management apparatus to refer to the perspective on research issues -

Publishing House of VNU; H 2017;

the professional qualities of journalists approach from the perspective of Ho Chi Minh thought

+ Group discussion method, mainly implemented in the journalism students' classes in two training institutions, Hanoi Academy of Journalism and Communication, Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities; mainly learn about the awareness and attitudes of future young reporters on the access

to the professional qualities of journalists from the perspective of Ho Chi Minh thought Each of our training institutions organizes two group discussions in classes; Each class thus divided into 4 groups discussing the topic yet

+ Regarding the method of selecting survey samples, researcher uses the systematic random sample principle - convenient That is, based on the classification of press lines, the status of press agencies are distributed across the country, researcher randomly selects, which is convenient for that system to collect quantitative and qualitative information (mainly questionnaire delivery and in-depth interviews)

In addition, to a certain extent, we use other methods such as observation (combined in the interview process, identifying behaviors of the target group, testing the information integrity, further illustrating the process of conducting research); systematization (systematizing the concepts related to the topic), fieldwork (survey, field work to press agencies and subjects using the press to understand the concept of journalistic ethics), research into history (study of the history of professional qualities of journalists), comparison (comparison of opinions on professional qualities of journalists, comparison of professional ethics of journalists); Analysis, synthesis (used to analyze, evaluate, synthesize the results obtained)

6 New contributions to the science of the thesis

The thesis has the following contributions:

• Study the background of journalistic qualities following Ho Chi Minh’s thought and use it to understand the current situation of professional journalists

in Vietnam This study will not look new at first, but reassembling the research results under the theoretical model will give us new results Perhaps it may be a new way of making, both inheriting meaning and summarizing the theoretical and practical issues that form the theoretical framework for the seemingly familiar problem

• Propose a system of feasible solutions and recommendations to improve the professional qualities of Vietnamese journalists, especially the current model of Vietnamese journalists Provide a guideline for the criteria, build a program for raising the professional qualities of journalists of a number of press agencies nowadays