Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had aworking session with the Vietnam Journalists’ Association (VJA) in Hanoi onJune 13, during which he highlighted the need to further develop a contingentof highly-qualified journalists and a professional, modern and humanitarianVietnamese revolutionary press, for the interest of the nation and the people’shappiness.

At the event, held on the occasion of the 98th anniversary of the Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925 - June 21, 2023), he underlined the significant role of the VJA in gatheringjournalists and helping them improve their political mettle and professionalskills, hailing its contributions to the success of the nationalrevolution and the strengthening of social consensus over the past 73 years since its establishment.

However, the Government leader said that there are much forthe association to do to deal with current problems in journalism activities,including the violations of the law by some journalists and signs of “privatising”the press.

Pointing to challenges to information and communicationsactivities in the coming time, PM Chinh asked the VJA and press agencies tofocus on raising the political mettle and professional skills of journalists,thus better serve the nation and people.

It is necessary to build a culture for journalismactivities, ensuring that the press always accompanies with the nation and servesas a sharp tool for the protection of the Party ideological foundation andnational interests, he said.

He pointed to the need for the press to honour core valuesof the nation and the strength of the national great solidarity bloc as well asthe great creativity of Vietnamese people, while encouraging the innovation andstartup campaign as well as the development of a green, digital and circular economy,contributing to building an independent and self-reliant economy with activeand proactive international integration.

The Government leader asked media agencies and the VJA toconcentrate on current, emerging and sensitive issues attractingpublic attention in a vivid, objective, multidimensional and comprehensivemanner, while proposing solutions to particular matters.

Alongside, it is necessary for the press to discover andhonour new factors, role models and good deeds, while showing betterperformance in social criticism, providing accurate, timely, honest andtransparent information to the community, preventing downgrade of moralityand lifestyle, rejecting distorted and toxic information and actively combatingcorruption, negative phenomena and wastefulness, he stressed.

PM Chinh also highlighted the necessity for the press tospeed up digital transformation in line with journalism economic development,affirming that the Party and State always provide optimal conditions for theVJA to promote its role and completing its political tasks.

According to VJA Chairman Le Quoc Minh, theassociation currently has 24,242 members who have actively popularlised the Party andState’s policies and laws, supporting the Party, people and army during thenational struggle for independence and the implementation of the “Doi Moi”(Renewal) cause launched by the Party.

They have also actively engaged in the building of the Partyand the political system, combating corruption and refuting wrongful argumentsof hostile forces, protecting the Party’s ideological foundation andstrengthening the national great solidarity bloc, he said.

Participants suggested that the Government and the PrimeMinister continue to support the VJA and media agencies in digitaltransformation, information access, copyrights, financial mechanisms and journalismeconomy development./.