At the recent Conference on Summarizing 6 years of implementing the 2016 Press Law in conjunction with 10 Regulations on professional ethics and Rules for using social networks for Vietnamese journalists, there were many opinions shared by leaders of press agencies around the issue: Some press agencies and journalists violate professional ethics by following trivial tastes, looking for ways to make profits, including distorting the nature of the matter as well as proposing some solutions to overcome this problem.

More and more heartbreaking numbers…

According to the latest statistics of the Inspection Committee of the Vietnam Journalists Association, there have been 90 cases of violations by journalists, members and reporters. Of these, 75 cases violated the law and 10 Articles of the Code of Conduct for Vietnamese Journalists. The Council for Handling Violations of the Code of Conduct for Journalists at the Central, local and unit levels has reviewed and handled more than 30 cases of violations of the Code of Conduct for Vietnamese Journalists, from criticism and warning to expulsion and revocation of membership cards. Among them, journalists and reporters often violate property extortion. Experts say these are heartbreaking numbers, but these numbers do not fully reflect the "dark corners" of current journalism activities.

Referring to the current difficult situation of agencies, journalist Ta Bich Loan - Head of VTV3 Entertainment Program Production Department said that press agencies are struggling to cope with social networking platforms as well as other digital platforms, leading to a loss of 70 - 80% of press revenue. Domestic press is trying to share the remaining small market share. "VTV lost 30% of advertising this year - a very large number" - journalist Ta Bich Loan informed.

In fact, investment in press development accounts for less than 0.3% of the total state budget investment. Many governing bodies not only do not provide financial resources for operations, but also impose on press agencies to make certain contributions to supplement the operating costs of the governing body. The story of the economy with its full of pressure is considered one of the important causes leading to the violations of the press in recent times.

According to journalist Ta Bich Loan, statistics show that the vast majority of violations are in magazines. Magazines with the words “business”, “environment”, “law”, “construction” often have many violations. And when it comes to handling, every unit has the same document stating that the reporter or collaborator has been dismissed - as a general document formula or as a “magic charm” when the authorities request to report violations.

According to the Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Journalists Association Nguyen Duc Loi, currently, due to the autonomy mechanism, many editorial offices assign economic media quotas to reporters, leading to pressure on jobs and income, making writers easily fall into a trap. Sometimes, reporters aim to have economic contracts rather than focusing on the quality of their articles. A phenomenon arising from the exploitation of the autonomy mechanism is the situation where reporters of specialized electronic magazines "break the rules" to write articles against negativity or PR for businesses, but in fact, they threaten to extort money, demand advertising or media contracts for personal gain or hand them over to the unit under the name of "supporting the editorial office". This phenomenon, called "newspaperization of magazines", greatly affects the honor and reputation of genuine journalists, causing society to misunderstand the role of the press.

Is the press mistaken about power?

For a long time, some Western countries have considered the press to be the “fourth power”, after the legislative, executive and judicial powers. Many Vietnamese journalists and reporters also believe in this concept, mistakenly believing that the press or themselves as journalists have real power. From there, they act arrogantly, exceeding the standards of civic ethics, professional ethics of journalists, and even violating the law.

Regarding this issue, journalist Tran Manh Quyet - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Lawyer Magazine said that based on professional practice, all journalists and reporters have a good understanding of the Press Law and the Press Working Process, but whether they implement it correctly or not is another story.

There are many stories of assault or obstruction of journalistic work, and opinions about reporters are sent to the newspaper's Editorial Board or to the Inspection Board of the Vietnam Journalists Association.

“ First, we have to ask ourselves whether our reporters did the right thing or not? And usually, reporters will answer that they did the right thing, until the authorities intervene very strongly, to the point where the investigation agency “takes action”, then many stories are the reporters’ fault” - journalist Tran Manh Quyet said.

According to journalist Tran Manh Quyet, when we protect the rights of reporters and members, have those reporters and members honestly told us the facts? Sometimes journalists mistakenly think that the provisions in the Press Law give us great powers, and when working with the people, with units, with businesses, they have made many requests beyond their capabilities, beyond the regulations provided, with an arrogant attitude causing frustration and conflicts that arise from there...

“ The story of a group of reporters being misled about the power of their press agency and of themselves has caused many sad violations. If reporters follow the correct procedures, I am sure that no problems will occur, ” Mr. Quyet emphasized.

It can be said that the fight against false perceptions needs to be strongly implemented to affirm that the Vietnamese press has an important role and position, but it should never be considered the power to cause wrongdoings. And, even if it has power, that power is the power to "support the righteous and eliminate evil", as Comrade Nguyen Duc Loi - Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Journalists Association emphasized: " Journalists must have the responsibility to contribute to building a green, healthy and positive press, worthy of the trust of the Party, State and People in the Revolutionary Press. It is necessary to build a team of Vietnamese revolutionary journalists who always keep "a bright mind, a pure heart, and a sharp pen".

Hoa Giang