Influence of the press on public policy making in Vietnam

ABSTRACT Title: "Influence of the press on public policy making in Vietnam" Level: Final assignment for Master Program in Public Management.. Vu Minh Khuong Date of thesis presentation

UPPSAL.v ^ %i V L R S I T V (SWEDEN) i&

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS, VNUH

MASTER PROGRAMME OF PUBLIC MANAGEMENT

Nguyen Huy LOG & Le Ngoc SON

Influence of the press on public policy making in Vietnam

Supervior: Prof PhD Lars Torsten Eriksson

Local supervior: PhD Vu Minh Khuong

ABSTRACT

Title: "Influence of the press on public policy making in Vietnam"

Level: Final assignment for Master Program in Public Management

Authors: Mr Nguyen Huy Loc and Mr Le Ngoc Son

Instructors: Prof PhD Lars Torsten Eriksson and PhD Vu Minh Khuong

Date of thesis presentation: 2011 - May

Research questions: Until now, there have been not any methodical researches

on the influence of press on public policy making in Vietnam The authors have the ambition to research on the role and methods of Vietnam Press with regard to criticizing, amending, improving the quality of public policy How the activities and criticizing voice of the press contributes to the enhancement

of national management capability of Government

Methods: In order to analysing the rank of online newspapers and behavior of

audiences, the authors have employed the statistic and calculating tools of Alexa and Google As for the analysis of researched situations, case studies, frequency of published news its content, the authors researched in many libraries, recapitulated the data of published articles on many topics of newspapers After that we employ quantitative and qualitative method to analyze the data The authors also examined related documents and reviewed previous literature, for example: the theories of public policy, the theories of the press etc After collecting diversified information, data and statistics, the authors brough out the analysis, evaluation and comments Hence, the authors employed statistical methods along with deductive methods (bring out an argument - the press have inlluence on public polic\ - and prove this)

Findings and Conclusions: The authors have proved that in fact, the Press has

inlluence on public policy making in Vietnam Researching the way how the press influences on a public policy This study also show the newspapers which are operated by the market mechanism (non-fmancing by the State), will have stronger cflects towards public policy in comparison w ith the newspapers subsidized

by 100% from Slate's budget The paper shows the significance of social

criticism and civil society, and the enhancement of State management abilit\,

in order to build a public manrrgement backgroimd Through this the<;t5, the

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authors also pointed out the shortcomings of the press which have detrimental

influence on public policy making, therefore we can control them in fliture

Suggestions for future research: Within the scope of the paper, the authors

only surveyed ten newspapers/online newspapers which are prestigious and popular in Vietnam On the other hand, because of the limited time and within

40 pages, the authors do not have enough conditions to research deeply on the negative impacts of the press on policy making, especially the situation in which press is dominated and cornered

In future, the authors expect to carry out a more profound research project on how to bring into play the advantage of the press in order to enhance the quality of public policy

The authors highly recommend further study on the influence of social media

on public policies (which is not within the scope of this paper) This is based

on the recent significant influence of social media on social life, including public policies

Contribution of the thesis:

- To the policymakers and researchers, this thesis has great meaning when

pointing out the psychology, habit and reading taste of majority of readers in Vietnam The surveys in this thesis have showed to the policymakers how the psychology and hobbies of audiences, accordingly (in future), we ha\e suitable public policies to their absorptive level Considering carefulK the absoiptive psychology will be very helpful to policymakers, managers when they want

to promulgate an effective policy On the other hand, this thesis also points out the impacts of communication to a public policy

- To the Covernment, this study has partly contributed to help the authorities

consider carefufly whether supplying the budget for newspapers or let them run under the market mechanism (Because this study demonstrated that, in comparison with the newspapers which get 100% of Budget of State, the newspapers which are operated by market mechanism, have greater and more positively influence on enhancing the quality of public policy) Besides, the

authorities also realize the positive side and the good effect of social criticism

in a newspaper, then building and encouraging a healthy civil societ\' and contribute to enhancing the State management ability In addition, it helps the authorities to realize the negative side when the press gives information which

do not rely on scientific principles, untrustworthy information sources; or when the press is monopolized From that point, we can find out the way of minimizing mistakes like that

(Please looking for detail in Result & Conclusions part)

Key words: "Press", "influence", "public policy", "criticism", "civil society",

"amend policy", "policy reactions", "enhance the quality of policy", etc

Table of contents

1 Introduction , 6

1.1 The aim of the research and research questions 5

1.2 Extent and unification of concepts 7

L2.1 Extent of research 7

1.2.2 Unification of concepts and common comprehension/Explanations of essential

terminologies g

2 K a c k ^ n m n d ]()

2.1 The particularity of Vietnam press 10

2.2 The fact of research about press' influence on public policies planning in Vietnam 11

3 Researching method/ 1 heor> i r a m e w o r k 12

3.1 Theory of public policy 12

3.1.1 Main public policy tools ]4

3.1.2 Process of organizing and promulgating public policy 14

3.1.3 "Achilles heel" of policy making in Vietnam 15

3.2 Theory of the Press 16

3.2.1 The Fourth Power: 16

3.2.2 Theory and classification of journalism 18

3 J Model and mechanism of mass media 19

3.3.1 Traditional media model 20

3.3.2 New communication model 21

3.3.3 Influence mechanism of the mass media 23

3.3.4 Influence mechanism of the press to public policy 24

3.3.5 The psychology of Vietnam's audiences 24

4 Mana^in^ p r e s s p<>he> in \ ielnani 27

4.1 Guideline of Vietnam's Communist Party on the Press 27

4.2 Law system of Vietnam's government on press activities 28

4.2.1 Press Law system and legal documents: 28

4.2.2 Managing information, press license under legal document system 29

4.2.3 Administer press activities by la^^f on other mediums 29

5 Searching situations and analysis 31

5.1 The positive influence of the press on public policy 31

5.1.1 Effect on taking shape the policy H

5.1.2 The influence on the policy drafting 35

5.1.3 Influence on adjusting policies / managing policy / assessing results 36

5*2 Negative influences of the press on public policy, and the **herd mentality" of the

pre9s37

6 ('ftT' Sivions •*"

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1 Introduction

1.1 The aim of the research and research questions

In early October 2008, Ministry of Health of Vietnam has issued a rule which

surprised public opinion: "ban on riding 55cc motorcycle of flat-chested people" (the full name of this rule was "Health standards for the vehicles driving) Accordingly, those who have average bust below 72cm are not allowed to be issued Al driving license, which means that they are not supposed to ride motorcycles of over 50cc - the most popular personal vehicle in Vietnam As soon as it is published, the policy draft has raised strongly disagreement among press community Experts have their own views of different perspective such as: under medicine viewpoint, doctors believed that it is reasonable; under legal aspect, lawyers said that this rule violated human rights and policy enactment process After the argument, at the end of October 2008 Ministr> of Health has withdrawn the rule themselves (This case studv will be further discussed in 5.1.2)

Some other policies drafts of Vietnam's Ministries (event ones have been issued) had the same situations

What brought the remarkable change in policy like this? It is proven that Ihcre have always been great impacts of the press on policy making The role of the press in terms of defending, providing altitudes of society has developed the

vitality for a civil society built in Vietnam Therefore, the authors of the paper

have the ambition to exploring how the Press influence on public policy and policy makers The supplemental questions were: How the Press discovers a

public policy is group benetlcial but not common community beneficial? What

are the differences between how Vietnam's press influence on and that in

Western countries? How would the policymaking be influenced if the Press is dominated the public opinion? In solving these questions, the authors expect to find out the roles of the Press in public policies improving in a developing country like Vietnam; the inevitability of the press freedom and a uholesome civil society

The authors have employed two press groups to measure the real influence of

each group to the change of a public policy, the first group is 100% state subsidized | 1 | , and the second group is self-governing according to market mechanism |2| The authors aim at proving that the second group, which is due

to market mechanism and regulation and meet majorit) of people benefit, have stronger influence on public polices rather Ihan the first group, which received subsidies and passively reflects public policy to the readers As a result, the authors would like to suggest several policy recommendations consistent with the real situation in Vietnam

«

1.2 Extent and unification of concepts

7.2.7 Extent of research

This research was implemented on Vietnamese newspapers which are printed and released in Vietnam The paper does not research on other media fonns (such as: personal web logs, social network sites) and radio and television broadcasting The authors emphasize on two types of newspaper: printed newspapers and online newspapers, which have had the greatest influence on public opinion in Vietnam now The sampled newspapers are selected based on their release number, readers number/readers visit, prestige, and practical influences in Vietnam Recently, newspapers have had increasingly positive contributions to Vietnam's development- therefore the authors pay attention on case studies (policies influenced by press) which are mainly under the term of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dzung Legally, the features of Vietnamese press are State owned, and there are no existing private newspapers, hence, two groups of newspapers are researched on are:

- Group 1: Newspapers arc run 100% by state budget and have been

considered as official mouthpiece of Communist Party of Vietnam and the

Vietnamese State: Nhdn Dan Newspaper (the official newspaper of

the Communist Party of Vietnam) Ha Noi Moi Newspaper (the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Vietnam Hanoi City), Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper (official newspaper of the Communist Parly of Vielnam Ho Chi Minh City), Chinhphu.vn online newspaper (agency direct under Vietnam's government Dang Cong san Viet Nam online newspaper (under Central Communist Party of Vietnam)

- Group 2: Self-funded newspapers (even having contribution to the State) are

often owned by organizations: Tuoi tre Newspaper (newspaper of The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Ho Chi Minh city); Thanh Nien newspaper (newspaper of The Vietnam National Youth Federation); Tien Phong new spaper (newspaper of Center Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union); Dan Tri online

newspaper (newspaper o{ Vielnam Association Promoting Education):

Vnexpress.net online newspaper (online newspaper of Ministr>' of Science and lechnolouv of Vietnam)

Wc will survey two press groups Each group has five newspapers (3 printed newspapers and 2 online newspapers) Total arc 10 newspapers and the detail in table helow : •# U

1dm .71 LT ', : -9 « T

Dan tri (www.dantri.com.vn), www.vnexpress.net

Table 1: The newspaper samples are chosen to research the situations

In particular, as our survey, on Alexa website - an online ranking analyzer, the online newspapers www.dantri.com.vn, w^vs^w.vnexpress.net, www.cpv.org.vn, www.chinhphu.vn are ranked as follows:

Table 2: Rank of online newspapers (Update by the end of April 2011)

1.2.2 Unification of concepts and common comprehemskm/Explanations of

essenUml terminologies

• In this research, the tenninotogy "prcM** denotes printed and online

I, which were chosen accorxling sadion 1.2.1

tf* dcMto folicies released by Vietoon's Oovonment which iMve the Influence on nHMt of people and are applied iH orer Victnan terriiory

"CSvt Society**: In Vielnam all activMn « t ontfer tfw leadarahip of

I Communist Party of VIr—n and miwi^iyri are all stite-owned, therefore

m% f i ^ **praM** aocorUng to Westarn coontriea' ooaeepis Hence, ''civil

In VtMlMl b still • new coSMpt Ilirough examining, we found that

civil society has been existing in Vietnam for years Briefly, those are social organizations excluding that work independently from the Government, business activities (or the market) and household, to connect the civilians in activities toward a common goal Therefore, the important civil elements, which include associations and organizations, play an as the community connection function, important part in the society Everytime the press publishes the opinions of experts, scientists, association leaders about the Government's policies, the activities of civil society in Vietnam are manifested

- "Policy criticism": is the publication of opinions by civilians, scientists,

association leaders, etc on the defects in the certain public policy (or the a public policy draft) This criticism tends to develope and contributes to a beUer and higher quality public policy Criticism does not mean a denial

- "Policy amendment'': After receiving the comments from the press, the

governmental agencies recognize them, and adjust the public policy to complete

it Thus, through this amendment, the quality of the polic\' is improxcd

- "Policy reaction" is understood as the reaction in which the Government

promulgates a new policy (it expresses a response of the Government) after receiving the comment and criticism from the press This new policy can be the withdraw of the formerh promulgated policy, or the improvement of the old one (according to the comments of the press)

2 Background

2.1 The particularity of Vietnam press

By the end of 2009, Vietnam has 706 printed press agencies, including 178 newspapers (76 central newspapers and 102 local newspapers) and^ 528 magazines (414 central magazines and 114 local/provincial magazines) In the field of radio and television Vietnam has 67 radio - television broadcasting stations, including 03 broadcasting stations at the central level (VTV VTC, VOV) and 64 of local/provincial level, particularly Ho Chi Minh Cit\ has Ho Chi Minh City Television station and People's voice of Ho Chi Minh City In terms

of electronic information, there have been 21 online newspapers 160 websites of printed press agencies and thousands of websites embedding infonnation of the Party, State and Government, unions, associations and enterprises Also by the end of 2009 Vietnam has more than 16.000 journalists who had press card' Every year, the number of newspapers published in the countr\' is about 600 million copies The average copy for each person is 7.5 per \ear Most people in major cities are able to read daily newspaper ^

In Western countries, people highly appreciated the role and inlluence of the press on all aspects of social life, and the press has "the fourth power" after the legislature, executive and judicial In Vietnam, the concept is being ebullicnily debated Some theorists of Vietnamese Communist Party rejects this notion, arguing that the press is a tool, a "tongue of the Parly" - Assoc.Prof PhD Dinh Huong, head of the Journalism Department at the University of Science Social and Humanities (Hanoi National Uni\ersity) agreed and stressed this point However, regardless how the concept of press is understood, it still has its own power It is proven that there are facts to be exposed on the papers, and then there are policies must change People often think about this invisible power

The role of the press is particularly important in the fonning and promulgating of policies in Vietnam, aiming to develop a transparent society Many leaders of the Vietnam's Communist Party and Government Congress conceded that most of

the corruption cases were discovered and to be adjusted by the press At press

conference in early 2010 Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dzung has highly appreciated the role of the press in the development of the country He confirmed that (he press are mi>re and more prompt, proper and strong in temis of profession, and "has tremendous and positi\e social impaet" in terms of politics^

' Data ut ihc Minibtn o( Information and Communications announced at conference on the the work of the

press April, 20"\20'l0

• F:)uong Xuan Son: The role o\ printing p r o s in X'ietnain in the rcno\ation period, the exchange process,

receiving and integrating international cuhure

* Prime Minister Nuu\on Tan Dung: The press has contributed greatly to the general achievement (available at http; 'suckhoedoisong.vn^2t)l()OI08074574S6p61c67ttui-tuong-diinh-phu-nguyen-tan-dung-bao-chi-co-dong- gop-to-lon-cho-su-nghiep-chung.hlin, cited on 26 4/2011)

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Within a Sweden project supported 1.2 $ million to establish journalistic skills training center in Vietnam, Mr Staffan Herrstrom - the Swedish Ambassador in

Vietnam - has emphasized ''the professional and qualified press is crucial to

develop a democratic society, as well as enhance the economy The openness and transparency of information are key elements to fight against the corruption and mismanagement We believe that it improves the quality of press and contributes

to the freedom of speech'' As a former journalist, a politician and a civil serx^ant

J fully believe that the right of freedom on information and a professional and high qualified press are key elements to expose the corruption and mismanagement In my opinion, this combination is a most effective tool'\ ^

2.2 The fact of research about press' influence on public policies planning

in Vietnam

As far as we know, in Vietnam, most of the studies only shared the social role of press in general There has not been an exhaustive study referring to the inlluence

of the press on public policy

In China, where the ideology resembles Vietnam's, when wc search some documents at a university and use some searching tools (in English and Chinese),

we could not find any documents related to the stud\ of eonnection or impact of press towards the public policy making Some of our colleagues believe that this

is a fair sensitive topic in China In Western countries, there are quite many

documents related to the searching However, comparing to the realit\ in Vietnam, these studies still have been inappropriate and abstract to the colorful reality in Vietnam, at least under their viewpoint Many studies or articles shared that Vietnam press is just one tool of Vietnamese Communist Party, hence their

main function is to protect the benefit o\^ Communist Party However, the

argument is inaccurate because the reality of Vietnam press is quite diversified More or less, under this side or the other, the press will continue its contribution

to amend the shortcoming of public policy It is the press community which have been an important channel to help Goxemment grasp the real situation, promulgate and adjust the public policies, contributing to build a good governance

The above analyses have shown that studying on the infiuence of the press on public policies making in Vietnam is quite new and there are still not any methodical research

^ The Swedish Ambassador in Vietnam: transparency of information help against corruption (available at

http://www.voanews.com/vietnamese/news vielnam-incdia-swcdcn-108442709.html, cited on 15 4 2011)

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3 Researching method/ Theoir framework

3.1 Theory of public policy

In order to analyze the connection between press and public policy, as well as the

influence of press on public policy, we need to have comprehension of tenns Namely, what is a public policy?

In Vietnam, this term has appeared for recent ten years, it may be because of

Vietnam's deeper integration to the world, and because the government needs to have some tools in order to adjust One of the most regularly used and effective tools is the policies In some developed countries and international economic organizations, "Public Policy" is a popular tenn We can refer to some concepts

Public policy is whatever governments choose to do or not do (Thomas R Dye, 1984)

Public policy is all activities of the state that affect directly or indirectly all citizens' lives (Peter B Guy, 1990)

Public policy is a complex combination of the interrelated choices, including decisions not to act set by state agencies or state officials (yViUiam \ Dunn, 1992)

Public policy consists of political decision for implementing programs to achieve social goals (Charles L Cochran and Eloise F Midone, 1995)

In plain words, public policy is a combination of activities of the government / authorities, directly or through agents because it affects the lives of citizens (B Guy Peters, 1999)

The term public policy is always just the actions of the government / authorities and the intention to decide this action, or public policy is the resuh of a struggle

in the government to make a decision who achieves something (E Clarke Cochran, et al, 1999)

Policy is a course of purposeful action that an individual or a group consistently pursued in solving the problem (James Anderson, 2003)

Public policy is a course of action or inaction of the government in response to a public problem It is associated with methods and policy objectives that have

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been formally approved, as well as the rules and practices of the authorities implementing the program (Kraft and Furlong, 2004)

As analyzed by Assoc.ProfPhD Le Chi M a i \ public policy can be acknowledged:

Firstly, the initial subject to promulgate public policy is government If the

subject promulgates "private policies", such as some private organization, political unions, as well as some governmental agencies which adjust the operation in scope of organization, union or a special agency, the subject promulgating public policy just can be the agencies of govemmental machiner\ The thing is that agencies in govemmental machiner>' is the subject promulgating both public policy and "private policy" The difference is that "private policies' promulgated by the agencies of State just solve the their internal issues, but not have the validity out of their scope

socio-Public policy is promulgated by the State so it is possible to consider public policy as the State policy The term "State*" is the jurisdictional authorities in governmental machincr}\ included Parliament Ministries and all levels of local government

In Vietnam, some newspapers often mention a phrase "policy of Communist Party and State", so there is an opinion showing that Communist Party is so-called the subject that promulgates public policy This can be explained by the particular reality of Vietnam Ihe Communist Party of Vietnam is the only political force leading the State and society The Communist Parly leads the State through mapping out the political programs, strategies, orientation of policy -directional base of State to promulgate public polic>

Secondly, these decisions are action decisions; it means that they consist of practical actions A public policy not only demonstrates the plan of policymaker

on particular issues but also consists of the executing behaviors of the mentioned plan

above-A public policy firstly expresses the plan of policymakers in order to change or maintain a certain actual situation, lioweven if it is just the plan on paper, it is still not a policy Public policy must consist of some executing behaviors of the plans above and bring in the actual effectiveness

If considering a public policy simply as the guidelines by the State, it is right but

not sufficient If there are not actual implementation to achieve some particular

results, these guidelines is just the slogan

Thirdly, a public policy focuses on solving a socio-economic issue aiming a specific goal Public polic\ is an action process in order to solve a certain

problem Unlike other management tools such as strategies, plan of State is the general action programs including one or some socio-economic fields The

' Social Insurance Magazine, issue 4, 200S

13

feature of a public policy is that it is defined and carried out in order to solve one

or some mutual related issues in social life A public policy is only generated when there is the existence or risk of a problem requiring the solution Policy matter is considered as the contradiction or requirement of changing the actual state which appears in socio-economic life It requires State to use public power and its influence to solve the issue It can be said that policy matter is the nucleus

of the whole policy process (include the stages of defining, enforcing and assessing the policy) Solving above-mentioned problems aims at targets which State want to get

Fourthly, public policy consists of some interrelating decisions First of all,

we should not identify the concept of "decision' here with administrative decisions, and also it is impossible to consider it just as lawful acts of State The concept of'decision' here have larger semantics, it can be considered as a choice

of action of State Ihese choices may consist of law, under-law decisions, even thoughts of leaders showed in their statements or acts However, policy is not synonymous with a particular law or any certain document Policy is a chain or series of decisions aim together at solving an issue, promulgated and enforced in

a long time by one or more different levels in governmental machinery A policy can be institutionalized to law normative acts to create legal basis to enforcement However, it consists of voluntar\' directional and simulati\e act projects

From the analyses above, we can reach a conclusion of how to understand the term ^"public policy": Public policy is the term denoting a series of decisions of State to put into action in order to solve a common existing issue in socio-economic life and following a defined goal

3 / / Main public policy tools

hi Vietnam, policy tools include: | 1 | Strategy of socio-economic development for ten year term and five year term; |2| Law normative acts such as Laws, Decree-law, Resolution of State, decree and Resolution of Go\ eniment; resolutions by the Prime Minister and Circular of Departments; 13| Administrative resolutions

as strategies or planning of each branches or regions in particular that are approved by Prime Minister or Ministers through administrative decisions or official correspondence

3.1.2 Process of organizing and promulgating public policy

According to the "Vietnam's Competitiveness Report 2010"'' while there were

clear guidelines on the procedure for promulgating law nonnatixe acts following Law of,Promulgating, procedure for promulgating adminislrati\e regulations is not fixed clearly and slill arbitrary

" Th;it R-portis lla- researching achic\emcnls and coo|u ition between Central Institute of EconomK

ManaucmcTit fOFM) I cc Kunn Yow Scho.^l otPiihlic l'oIic> C^ingarorc) and Profc^^or Mithac! P

(Harvard BU.SUKSS School)

14

Procedure for building and promulgating law normative acts (following Law of Promulgating) is summarized: Depends on a specific policy, a Department in charge of a particular field (related to a specific policy) will put forward the construction and promulgation of a law normative art In order to carry out this task, the Department will establish a section of drafting and examine current

policy concerned, conduct Regulatory Impact Assessment (RJA)\ develop a policy

draft or regulations and it submit to other departments of Government and related Department to examine and collect suggestions After finishing consultation, the responsible Department will submit the draft to Department of Justice in order to assess the necessity, suitability, legality and compatibility of the Draft When approved, this draft will be submitted to the Government It depends on the legality of the policy document, the draft will be reported to Prime Minister or Parliament to discuss and approve

Administrative decisions are not necessarily to observe any specific process, so the promulgation of the similar drafts is still discretionar>' nature Theoretically, promulgation of administrative regulations comply the general process of promulgating law normative act, but it is not necessary to send to Department of Justice for assessment or submit to Pariiament for suggestion and approval Depending on form of administrative regulation that the document will be promulgated by drafting agency (such as: Departments, Sectors or People's Committee) or Prime Minister

Following a study by Professor Kenichi Ohno (2008), the current process of policy drafting in Vietnam can be demonstrated in below map:

Prime Minister

- Excellent technocracy group under Policy of

the guidance of Prime Minister guidance

- Selection of qualified specialist, young and supcrvisic

civil servant

- Simplifying administrative procedure

Policy of guidanctt

t Carry out and

Report honestly

Technocrat Group (Policymaker)

Carry out and Report honestly

Dcrcc^D

'vcing Pol<cy)

3: Proeam ^^aihnjt policy in Vietmm (by hvfmaar Ktnichi Ohno) XIJ "Ackmts ketr «(fpoik} imUHg in y^etMm

to the "Viemam't CompetUhtneu Report 2010" the development

of public polic> hi VidMni i^ still weik Poiicy-auiking is

on v«y Halt (or even not feMii on) information

im

15

evidence While the quality of policy at higher authorities level (e.g legal documents and policies by Congress or the Government issued) have remarkably improved, especially after accessing into WTO, the quality and the applicability

of regulations and policies at lower levels (by ministries or local administration) still have not been consistent The consultation with experts and other individuals and organizations outside government have not been properly focused In fact Vietnam is not lacking in planning, policy planning, but these projects or plans were built separately, lack of connections, leading to the confiiction The lack of connection between the international aid organizations in Vietnam with the priority areas or different interests also cause the limitations in the policy consultation The long-term plans exist separately from the specific action programs in the short term The monitoring, assessment whether the policy has been accurately implemented is often not done a systematic way

3.2 Theory of the Press

3.2.1 The Fourth Power:

The press is considered as 'The Fourth Power" This conception appeared during the latter half of the 20th century, especially after a political scandal (called fhe Watergate) led to the President of the United Slates Richard Nixon's resign in

1974 So far, he was still the only President of the United Stales who had to leave his incumbent position because of the articles by tw^o journalists Bob Woodward and Cari Bernstein of Washington Post

Turning back to the late I8lh century and eariy 19th centur>' to learn about the '^Ihrec Powers" (and then the ^Tourth Power"), we can see isn the United Kingdom (the UK), Three Powers were disposed in the Senate, including the InstUute of Clergy (Lord Spiritual), the House of Lords (Lords Temporal) and the House of Commoners (Commoners); in France, power was also divided in the same classes but under different names and forms (The Church, Lords and Citizens) Later, the concept of Three Powers referred to three sections of law: legislation, executive and judicature However, people are always aware that this decentralization could onl\ be effective to ensure the freedom and democracy if

it had the fourth Power: the right of accessing and providing infomiation and

freedom of speech, which were expressed through the press": ''Mass Democracy

cannot work without a mass media''' Since then the "Fourth Power" term

emerged

fhc World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) affirmed that the Press-Publishing could be compared to "nervous system" ot the know ledge economy, pro\ iding to entire "body" a huge amount of information, from stock index to financial scandal of a company or an upcoming'mergence In short, the press serves the economic development

2005

' Media and Dcmou.icy, The K \F De.nocru v Report 2005 Konrdd Adenauer r.und.t n H^MiVKT

16f

The role of the Press has become remarkably more important when the Worid Bank (WB) emphasized the importance of institution and pointed out that no social institution can do better than independent press in monitoring Government and fighting corruption "Most countries have difficulties in development due to the Governments and the Institutions created breeding ground for corruption If the mass media played a role as "the honest broker of information", thev could

not be a cheerleader for the Government This could lead to uncomfortable

situations for Government, but these situations must be solved openly, satisfactorily, or it would ruin the foundation of economic development

When the Press is "'the honest broker of infonnation", it becomes an effective weapon to eliminate the corruption Such as in 2003, in China, the mass media coordinated with the state auditor, brought to light the violations of Ministr\ of Finance, Ministry of Education Ministry of Communications and a series other governmental agencies

According to Dr Le Dang Doanh (Former President of Central Institute for

Economic Management of Vietnam), in Korea, "All people ^s and businesses'

papers and documents arc officially publicized in terms of who processes, expected rate of progress and other processing information People also get access to seek the information from their mobile phones Information technology^ and regulations is no longer encouraging stajfs to directly contact with the clients, and that reduces harassment^

Vietnam for the last few years also ha\'e many questionable cases that were reficcted strongly by the press, from the violations in PMU18'' to the PCI ** scandal, and recently audit results on the income of a number of the State Capital and Investment Corporation (SCIC)

8 Cheerleader means person who generates acti\ities to support something (good or bad purpose)

9 PMDIS: its abbre\ialion is Project Management Unit, uhich means the Management Board of Project 18 The PMIII8 was a scand.il related to corruption and began to be knovn-n sine Januar> 2006 when the General Director PMl I Mr Tien Dung Bui was accused of betting on football for $1.8 million Alkr that, the case got veo complex changes, such as two Vielnamese journalists Ngu>en Vict Chien (llianh Nien Newspaper) and Nguyen Van Hai (lu(M Tre Newspaper) were arrested (Ma\ 12 2008)

i« The PCI: I'C 1 IS an abbrev laiion ot the Pacillc Consultants International (Japan) In June 2008 Japanese media reported that some otlleials of this con.pany had bribed hundreds of thousands of I' S dollars to Vietnamese partner

to win the contmet Character received this grart who was named was Mr Ngoe Si Uuynh the Deputy Director of Public VNorks and Transport m llo Ch Minh Cit> and Director of Project Management Unit l-asl - West Uighway

n S C K - stand, for S.ate C'apital and hnc.iment Corporation This is a large-scalc stalennvncd enterprise has f\incti<.n in managing and investing state capital, a the Goxemment of V'ictnam representative December 2009

17

3.2.2 Theory and classification of journalism

An American political scientist, Mr Robert M Entman divided journalism into

four sections: Traditional media Tabloid Advocacy media and entertainment Criteria for this classification is based on whether the section obserxed five principles of journalism or not Five principles are: fl] accuracy, [2] faimess [3] government monitoring, [4] Distinguishing reporting and commentar\ reporting and advertising [5] do not set the profit maximization as a highest purpose

Traditional media is the section which observes all five journalism principles Accordingly, an exemplary journalist primarily is one who reported accurately, truthfully, such as using reliable sources, citing comments and documents of responsible agencies Secondly, journalists must be fair as follows Entman's definition "Having equal treatment to all parties" and keep personal opinions independent and objective, fhirdly, journalists must be courageous to perform the monitoring function to government, and forces goNcmment accounting Moreover, the Press not only aims at government but also all others power agencies, others sections (e.g communities of the business and doctor ) who are able to take the opportunity of their social advantages to profit illegally ''Distinguishing reporting and commentary" means an article should pcrlbmi its functions without personal commentary, or subjective assessment Similarly, the reporting must be clearly independent from advertising acti\ ities

These characteristics lead to the fifth principle of traditional media: profit is not the highest purpose

Tabloid may tend lo make accurate and fair reporting, but it does not aUaeh the function of monitoring government It has an notable feature: maximizing profits

In this regard, tabloid is similar to entertainment media, of which the first priority

is profits, and the second is to make fun to help readers relax, and regardless the accuracy, fairness and truth (except those run for the profit purpose)

Advocacy media is a quite new concept According to Robert M Entman this section considers the monitoring society is as the top priority It does not focus

on profits (even in many cases, it accepts losses), but it tends to how to expand its social infiuence, which is reflected by its infiuence on state policies and aUiludes of public opinion Of course, these editorial offices have all own point

ol^ \ iew Ihc reporting and commentary of ad\ocacy remarkabh depend on

standpoint of these newspapers Although news is truthful, it will be rejected once il conllicts Ihe views of editorial board In this case, factor of accuracy max still exist, but objective and fair factors are not guaranteed With these characteristics, the term "advocac> media" can be understood as "propaganda press" However, they do not propaeandi/e for the policies of government, on the contrarv tor the critical standpoints against goxcrnment (true or false)

people panicked when the state auditor released the salary of SCIC leaderships over 78 million Vietnam Jong per month (about S4.500)

18

According to Robert M Entman"s classification, we have tried to collate with Vietnam's market and found that Vietnam has some traditional newspaper, such as: Tuoi Tre, Thanh Nien, Tien Phong, etc and some entertaining magazines such as: Dep (belonging to Vietnam News Agency), online newspaper www.ngoisao.net (belonging to Vnexpress, FPT Corporation) An obvious example of an advocacy media is VietnamNet

Today, some press and media principles by Mr Entman may not be something new with Vietnam journalists We believe that if consulting some of Vietnam journalists, majority of them will say cleariy that the true media have to execute the function of refiecting the news and supervising government, social criticism, along with the requirement of exactitude, fairness and objcctification

That is the backbone features which the Western press has leaned on for a long

time Nevertheless, for about two last centuries, the development of Intemet and

many forms of entertainment has led to the instability of traditional press* throne

In "Losing the News - fhe Future of the News That Feeds Democracy'' Alex

Jones wrote: "When the news of government supervising becoming so boring and we have to choose what to report based on which draw readers" interest most, instead of the importance of news, that is when some standards of tabloid

is used Some traditional newspapers extremely prompt I \ become tabloid Current trend is tabloidi/alion the foundation of a journalism of which profit is top priority but not public benefit associating w ith profit."

rhal trend is the threat of American journalism and it is familiar with Vietnam, although Vielnam journalism is on the way of professionalizing process -separating from propaganda and satisfying the above-mentioned standards Vietnam's journalism at the same time has to professionalize and turns into tabloids

As remarked by Ms Doan frang (reporter of Phap luat Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh newspaper): as the present journalist generation, maybe some of them will feel at once lucky and unluckx It is lucky because we are working in a transferring country, of which the society has man\ things unknown, requires to know and need to be known, here the needs of infonnation among readers is especially high Manv newspapers always have market blanks to fill up Journalists have manv topic to write However, it is also unlucky because we are under the pressure of following the momentum of professionalization and tabloidization of the press While Western countries have gradual!) experienced in many \ears, in our country, we must have experienced in a short period, fhe trend ol

tabloidization came exceedingly soon while Vietnam journalism has no\ been

mature to stiftlcientlx play "the Fourth Power'' role

3.3 Model and mechanism of mass media

l o evaluate, measuic liow the press atTects a public policx we need to know about the mechanism of mass media

19

3.3.1 Traditional media model

Claude Shannon's studies have simulated activities of communication as follows:

N^^#Channel ^ , ^ ^ Encoder ^ xT Decoder k-KT Receiver^

w Message

Feedback

i

Picture 1: The Shannon - Weaver Model

Through this model, we can research, evaluate each factor, each relation in

communicative process It is also a condition for press finds effective methods so

that to improve its influence on policies

According to Dr Ta Ngoc Tan (President of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of

Politics and Public Administration), in history of public communication, there

were two basic models The first one is imposed one-way model and the second

is flexible two-way model

Regarding the first model, the imposed one-way communication, in which,

information is transferred on-way from sender to receiver In this model,

recourses are the most important Those who hold power of mass media just

focus on what they want, therefore information are provided passively without or

with little contribution from receivers

This model suit with the condition tn which receivers do not have the direct

feedback chamiels Books, newiptpers, movies, and even radio, television in the

first generation just transferred informabon lo iccdven in one-way The study on

people's infonnation r^qwcments w « indepandent to rtic information releasing

process On the other hand, people formcrty often recefved information in

ft way The lack of information fesourcea, the autocratic social

cultuni aad eonventional prejudice hava cmtaed the complacent of ptople \n {nfdrmation receWing

MT«N«DcT«n(2Ml),

20

Thanks to social development, improvement of common knowledge and the democratization, the first was in the risk of collapse to be replaced Moreover, the constant development of technology encouraged the formation of two-way communication between sender and receiver Under these conditions, the flexible two-way communication was generated

Flexible two-way public communication - is the model in which

communication process occurs contentiously, directly, both sender and receiver have the opportunity to select messages

In this model, receiver's role was discovered to be vital As the infonnation receivers, their activeness is expressed through the way they select which message which be receive, show their feeling, have the requirements on information as well as become crucial factor in public communication process For example, on the Internet, people almost are not restricted in selecting and receiving information During the communication process, the subjeetive imposition of sender has little meaning or, in many cases, no effect to other elements participating in the process

This second model refiects a high level of human social dcvelopmenl in all aspects of economy, science, technology, culture, social To guarantee about result, market research plays an important role I hanks to the research findings, communicators know people's requirements and suitable methods to provide with communication products In fact, the second model is logicall) generated from the first model to adjust new conditions

3.3.2 New communication model

As in the development of technology and intemet in general, the emergence of social network websites (e.g Facebook and fwitter) in particular, the new communication \\a\ was established The press histor\ has showed that its development often associated with new technology In 18' Centur\ printed

newspaper appeared after the invention ol^ printer b\ molds; The first radio

broadcast emerued in U)4()s after the transmission lights In 1983 Americans invented the term "internet" after the discovery of this izlobal network Four years later, with the ad\ent of technology, "world wide web'"", the real Internet growth worldwide and intemet media (the press release on the network) was generated Online newspapers - the type of press released on the Internet - have gradually changed the former habit of reading newspapers, listening to the radio, watching television and therefore affect the information cojlectimi and distribution of traditional press According to a study by the Pew Internet Project Network (^cpnducted from Icbruary 2009 to lebruary 2010) m the U.S 92% of readers are involved in the multi-media, and only 7% of readers Just read on one fonn of newspaper .-,:.,,-,

J I iin Ikrners-Lee is considered as Uie loundcr of world wide web

The trend of integrating different types of media and technology is a feature of

journalism in the Intemet era Public requirements today for the press: / Want:

what I want, when I want it, the way I want it Public/ users of modern journalism

do not just receive content, but also contribute to develop and send content to press agencies, the general subject of the press works We are now have a new-media model, media model more democratic Each individual in this era of information can satisfies the desired media more and more

Some people thought that basic characterisUcs of online communication is interactiveness However, we do not agree with this opinion In our perspective, radio, television and newspapers are also interactive The ability to customize, is featured only in the online newspaper

Obviously, personalization allows the public to receive asynchronous infonnation and a scries of other possibilities Localization ability, the ability to change color, interface Renowned online newspapers suchaswww.bbc.co.uk (BBC Group) or www.voanews.com (Voice of America) has developed se\eral versions for different countries with appropriate content in their mother language,

of course VOAncws has 62 online channels in 62 languages while the number of the BBC is 33

Feature of personalized information of online newspaper also allows users to design the "newspaper" themselves According to a research by Pew Internet Project report online, it "appears" model "3P": | 1 | Personalized: 28% of online newspapers readers want to customize the home page at their will: |21 Portable: 33% of users use the portable devices; | 3 | Participatory: 37% of intemet users share what they read, and their comment on the popular social networking sites such as Facebook Tw itter etc

In theory, the customization (personalization) allows users to change the module

of a newspaper by a software which has variety of options For example, users who prefer to read sports news can rearrange to mo\ e the sports section to home page, or they can redesign an online newspaper until they satistS' such as

changing fonts, font size, background color o( online pages, the color of

manchette Media nowadays has developed to the peak that journalism is not exclusive an\more, anyone can participate in this acti\ity The concept of

^^citizen journalism'^ is employed by American press theorists to refer the conununication activities of those who are not professional journalists, (icncrallv, citizen journalism is an acti\itv in which non-journalistic people collect, analyze and share infonnation on the mass media

Currently, the Vietnam's press theory still have not concluded a elear summary

or predicted ftdl report on the above characteristic of online newspapers because the hitemet is rapidly and increasinoly complete However, under the perspective

of theoretical analvsis we can see the ability of information personalization of an online newspaper depends on 111 the creativeness of Uie newspaper and [2J technological capability

m

According to Phan Van Tu (Journalist, Vice Chairman of Dong Nai Journalists Association): "Information personalization of online communication can be considered as follows: a special capability of this type of press enables users to freely select the information they need in time (to receive asynchronous information), in the way they want This feature shows the difference of online communication model as compared to traditional communication

3.3.3 Influence mechanism of the mass media

As mentioned above, the pragmatic model of mass media activities continuously develops and suit for the specific historical conditions In fact, all models have an interaction of two-way information The main distinction considered here is which way have the domination how the two-way information interacts In any model, the source of information always has a tendency, which is decided by the purposes of the information sources on social influence Understanding of the influence of media on society is to clarify the aspect and method of operation of mass media in order to achieve the desired ctTcctiveness

Mass media influence on society via information is demonstrated as the following mechanism:

SUBJECT 4 MF.SSAGK 4 CONSCIOUS SOCIAL

NESS

SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

Picture 2: Influence mechanism of the mass media

As shown on the chart, each subject builds a message containing information which is conveyed to the society through the media means The process of creating the message always has a tendency In other words, purpose and perspective of the message sender always affect and decide the tendency of containing information The tendency of containing information is expressed through the selection and handling of information, data, level of awareness,

analysis and assessment methods and dncct statemcoiA

Information via the media nmm infloences on social consciousness, from that

point to fbrai the knowtodfe, iMding to new attitudes or «kanges in old attitudes

The c h a M t In social conaciflMac* wM lead to social behavior and then create

aoeitl LfftiUlTinwi UAnMHoa lUiHiiiii m iMvMably tendency lead to social

t n d n c y in bdwvlor TendMcy of Wtiil Mwvlon are abo alifMlated by the

scale, fanuie as weU as the tsadency of InfonMlion

23

On the other hand, according to Ph.D Ta Ngoc Tan, social influence bv mass media also depends on public awareness of the information Process of public

approachmg information includes: Firstly initial perceptions of public plav a

fundamental role for the approach These are the knowledge standard social experience, socio-political opinions together with the complex from religious

creed Secondly^ the interest of object to the source of information People focus

on mformation when it is necessary or meant to them Thirdly, public assessment

to the source of information This assessment is an important entrance leadins to

the mformation receiving Fourthly, implementation of experimental steps ofthe

object is based on the reality or through experiment, imagination This is a final challenge to the source before it brings effect in reality, meaning that it becomes

social behavior Finally public accepts and adjusts their own social behaviors in

accordance with the scale, feature, and tendency of the source from mass mediạ

If we just take a look at general level of the infonnation access, each group will have different approach levels depending on their premise of knowledgẹ Normally, group having medium perception premise is easy to accept information from mass mediạ Both groups having high or limited perception premise are difficult to access infonnation It is because of the imprudence, thorough selection with the first group, or shortage of knowledge, demand limit with the second onẹ However, in any case, researching to know clearly essence, characteristics, demand of object is one of the first factors guaranteeing the influence of mass mediạ

3.3.4 Influence mechanism of the press to public policỵ

How does the press influence a policỷ Is that true when a fresh-printed article comes directly to the authorities or policymaker, and through them, can press interfere in a policỷ Simply, if we imagine that in a lovel\ morning, a governmental leader was enjoying his cotfee and reading a critic article on his policy just promulgated the day before, then he would decide to adjust the policy immediately because the article was right Howc\er, the reality is much more complex In the authors* opinion, the press influences to a policy through 3 ways:

| 1 | it influences directly to the leaders or polic\makers and the change is approved and adjusted, then a more effective policy promulgated [2J the press influences on relating benefit groups, since then they act primaril\ as !obb\ists (or/and use press lo continue the influence on the policymakers) [3] includes both 2 ways abovẹ

3.3.5 The psychology of Vietnam \ audiences

In the course of carrying out research on the influence of the Press on public policN making, we are concerned about what kind of infonnation draw the audiences' interest^Tflốand what appeals tHc audience to the newspapers To answer these questions, wc have carried out surveys by Googlés means on some irustworth}- (inline new spapers in Vielnam namelx' Tuoi Tre new spaper and Tien íhong Online newspaper Ihe survey resuhs can make some polu;yinakers disappoinled and the intellectuals who ha\e high expectation of reading culture

and the taste for reading of the audience unpleased On Tu6i Tre Online newspaper, according to our surveys' results during a week (from 17* April to 23' April 2011), the sport news (the scores of sport matches) appeals the audience most, based on the number of the audience's visits The next one is news about digital media the information on Law seems hardly to draw the audiences' interest

The detail will be mentioned in table below

[media services] media.tuoitre.vn

[real estate] diaoc.tuoitre.vn

[teenage life stvie] teen.tuoitre.vn

[job] chuNentranii.tuoitre \n vieclam

Survev.tuoitre.vn

ecard luoiirc i.om.\n

fret holiday stories]

UUt4: afttmpa§t wm tfTwii Tri o0tlm

9o2f^AfHI, 2$U based on Urn rmm ¥l^

JT^Afhl 2011

2S

On the Tien Phong Online newspaper, statistics on 200 most read articles (from July, 2010 lo April, 2011) of the Management Board of this Agency indicate that: Most of them belong to sensational topics and entertaining section: normally

"rob murder, rape" or "Ihe gossips of the celebrities" In the list of these most read articles, none of them has the content of policy criticism

As the survey shown, it is the general situation of our newspapers now In fact, majority of the audiences do not concern much about political, policy issues, or similar issues This can show how the academic standard and the reading taste of Vietnamese people This information will help policymakers to have a clearer comprehension on the audience

a

^

wm • » ' » f

4 Managing press policy in Vietnam

4 J Guideline of Vietnam's C o m m u n i s t Party on the Press

According to Vietnam's press theory, "The Party's manner is the principle of revolutionary press - the lodestar for the press activities in Vietnam, a socialist country, of which target is set of the people, by the people, and for the people"

"Each journalism, each article, even each journalist carries inside the direction The direction here means which object and which object's benefit that the press tends to protect'" In classification society, the direction is expressed by the way the press serves and protects which class Vielnamese revolulionar\ press admits theist direction as an indispcnsability, in which it reaches Party property, officially protects the benefits of Party and the people against the enemy Expression of Party property in Vietnamese press activities is the principle of Party leading press activities"

Regulation of Communist Party of Vietnam states: "Communist Party of Vietnam is the vanguard of worker class and working people as well as Vietnamese ethnic groups" Percepts correctly about target of worker class, of the people to serve people, mission of Communist Party of Vielnam is also to serve people The press operating under the leadership of Parly is indispensable According to Charter and Platform officially proclaimed Communist Party of Vielnam has set Marxism and Leninism and llo Chi Minh's thought as the lodestar for every activity In "Party organ and Party literature", Lenin wrote:

'^Literature and press have to become organs of Parr\\ Publishers, bookstores, and reading rooms, libraries and newspaper stores - all must be oj Party, in charge before Party "

Basic thoughts of mission of revolutionary press Principle of Party manner in all press activities in our country are mentioned in previous works, theses, writings

of many leaders, and researchers

The Press is led by Parly's orientation in politics, thought and infonnation through inspecting and guiding the implementation of those orientations in Party organs and Parly members in press agencies under the guideline: "The Press is a profound tool of Party's thought, is a voice of the Party, of the Stale, of social organi/alion and is a forum of the people" Press operates under the Party's leadership, managemenl of State and under the Constitution and Law of Socialist jurisdiction government Party leads the Slate and society by its organs and units Organizational rule of Party is democracy and centralism Party system is decenlrali/ed from the central to the local level On that basic Party leads the press by Party organs undertaking the communication from lop lo bottom

Operation o( Central Executive Committee of Parly performs its leadership in

cverv social aspect As followed the rules of Party on press operation, there are

»*V.l.Lenin volume 12 (1978), National Political Publishing House Hanoi, P 121-128

27

specialized boards assist Central committee Party Central Committee's Commission of Popularization and Education perform the functions of assisting, advisory, and directly culture steering and thought of the Party Press Department of Commission of Popularization and Education is an organ in charge of press communication area Leading system of Party on press activities

is organized closely and united from top to bottom Based on the rule of group leadership individual development, orientations and policies approved by Party have expressed the wills of the people; individual develops to guarantee the thorough work

4.2 Law system of Vietnam's government on press activities

Direction of Party and law of State always have tight connection State Administration on press activities is implemented in many sides and aspects especially: Building and carrying out strategy, scheming, and planning the press development; promulgating and organizing legal documents of press; organizing information for press, managing infonnation for press, educating, fostering and enhancing knowledge standard of staff; organizing and administering science technology activities in press area; granling and retrie\ing press license operation, press card; managing international press cooperation; inspecting copyright deposit press, managing press depository; organizing commending and rewarding press business, guiding, inspecting the effectuation of Law of press

1 he management is carried out based on legal document s> stem

4.2.1 Press Law system and legal documents:

In implementing the tasks of macro-management on the press Vietnam's government promulgated the resolution stipulating in detail implementation of Press Law, legal documents and supervising implementation in reality Prime Minister signed to promulgate the directives of developing press strategy as well

as press management Ihe base of management system is stipulated by Article

109 - Constitution of Socialist Republic of Vietnam: ",,.Government approves the management of press activities and assignment managing press for ministries, departments, branches to manage throughout from the central to the local level" Ministry of Information and Communications is a governmental organ in charge

of managing directly in the field of press One of main tasks of the Ministr> of Infonnation and Communications is to implement ever> press activity under Vietnanf law Ministry is responsible before Government in compiling drafts of law under-law documents, policies, press policies Those documents after being ratified, if appro\ed by 2/3 of all Congress delegates, they are turned into law Press law svsteni promulgated includes Law on Press policy 1957, Press Law

1990, amended and supplement Press Law 1999 At present, all press activities arc adapting in accordance with Press Law 1999 with some additional articles

After Press Law^ appnned by Congress, Prime Minister promulgated resolutions stipulating in detail law implementation State managing organs on press have tasks to execute Press Law to inspect the implementation of law policy of press

to local press organs, fhe State's management of central press and other local

28

press in accordance with the authority of Ministry of Information and Communications

Beside Press Law, the State's press managing organs have the authority and responsibility to issue, organize and implement under-law of documents given before Legal documents of press must be suitable with Press Law and practicality with the reality of local press activities

4.2.2 Managing information, press license under legal document system

State manages in macro-levels orientation on infonnation mechanism, organizes seriously infonnation for press follow principles of Law of Press Organizing infonnation for press means that it is the orientation for press to what should write, what should not Managing information is to inspect and supervise information in every type of press Organizing infonnation for press and managing infonnation of press must not be considered as censorship of press Ministry of Information and Communications is an organ which grants press license for Central press organs, provincial/city Department of Infonnation and Communications, under direct Central grant press license lor local press organs License registering documents are stipulated by Ministry of Information and Communications Granting license is based on lenns stipulated at Article 18 of Press Law and other Articles of government at 5l/2()()2/ND-CP Resolution on 26"' April 2002 stipulating in detail execution of amending and completing some Articles of Press Law

Press organs break articles of Press Law, for instance, if they break regulations about licensing, or about issues not allowed to published etc they will be warned, punished, retrie\ed works, records, videos, suspended temporarily or retrieved license follow principles of law depending on level of a break Ihe administrative penalty on press, publish is stipulated in accordance with Resolution 02/2011/ND-CP by Vietnam's government on 6'^ Januar\ 2011

4.2.3 Administer press activities by law on other mediums

In various and multifonn of press activities stipulated by law there still has other aspects such as: managing practical science technology in press area (includes: investing equipments, transmission system, electrical generator power, etc.); managing international cooperation (includes: activities of press related to

foreign elements in Vielnam); managing issue of press card, organizing the discipline and reward in press activity; managing guidance of inspecting and

supervising implementation of Press Law, etc Press is a branch which is specially concerned by the Slate Many resolutions, policies are promulgated to manage effectively press activities Press Law has become closer with press activity in reality

As presented abo\e Party leads press activity in Vietnam Direction of the Parl>

on press aclivitx is an orientation for re\oluti(Miar\ press, is a voice ol Part\ State and a forum of the people Under the spirit, the press has to be \oluntar>

29

self-conscious and resolute on standpoint of the Party, becomes a voice of the rights of working classes; press is under the leadership of Party and propagandize the guidelines, policies of Communist Party of Vietnam

30

5 Searching situations and analysis

5.1 The positive influence of the press on public policy

Recently, what the press has contributed to in the development process of Vietnam is remarkable Even people are for or against: it is hard to disclaim the positive influence, especially the contribution on amending the public policv of Vietnam As mentioned in section 3.1.3 the quality of Vietnam public policies have not normally been high, in process of promulgating, the exogenous effects

of policies are not considered Therefore, the press, as its vocation, expresses its opinion to create an influence on politicians, leaders, policy makers in order to amend and perfect the policies

In our opinion, the influence occurs in many sides:[ll the influence of the press

on establishing new policies: |21 influence a policy in the process of being drafted; (3j the impact of media on adjusting, monitoring and evaluating the effect of policy However, under the theme of this slud\ the^authors just exa^nine the influence of the press on policy making, the searching situations will concentrate on the situation | 1 | |2| more than situation | 3 |

5.1.1 Effect on taking shape the policy

Mediator situation: November 16"\ 2010, Agence Francaise de Securite

Sanitaire des Produits de Sanle (AFSSAPS) announced that: Ihe epidemiology specialists believe that Mediator, a kind of medicine is used for diabetes and dyslipidemia patients, may involve in the death of at least 500 people in 33 years during its existence in the market After that November 18''' 2010 ru6i Ire Newspaper, one of the few newspapers have the notable influence in Vietnam, released an article about this news In this article Tuoi tre Newspaper quoted the

"thunderstruck flgures" form Al-SSAPS: About 5 million people used Mediator ALSSAPS decided to stop putting this pharmaceutical product into circulation because it has no much effect on diabetes and could be harmful to cardiac \al\e still there are about 300,000 people using that medicine

Thanh Nien Newspaper is also quoted the situation in France: A ban which was

noi enforced promptly in France although there were man\ warnings of the

medicine A l P quoted Dr Irene Frachon to affinn: "Medicine officials are \er} slow when revoking this medicine despite of an\ warning I m\self know some patients and what they are suflering Some of them have had heart surgery and

have to use different kinds of medicines" From Februar\ 2009 Dr Irene Frachon has warned AfSSAPS about the harm of acti\e element Benfluorex

towards cardiac \alvc (active element of Mediator) She estimated that e\er\ two thousand people use that medicine, there will ha\e one person get harmed and about 80% of them are women

In fact, Benfluorex has tested in many years but until 2006, a case got a problem

of cardiac \alve related to Benfluorex, is conflnned I hat is a female patient who has to change her cardiac xalvc after using Mediator

31

An additional study was can-ied out in last summer in order to define the impact

of Benfluorex towards many patients who use Mediator from 2006 The researchers reviewed the time when those patients readmit to the hospital and the mortality situations related to the problems of cardiac valve until June 2010 About the result, according to AFSSAPS, about 500 mortality cases may be caused by Benfluorex

Young people Newspaper also reported: In total, Servier Group solved 146 million of Mediator boxes in France for nearly 3 million people Apart from France, Mediator is banned in Spain, Italy and America

Policy reactions:

After Thanh Nien Newspaper, luoi Tre Newspaper (two newspapers with highest number of readers in Vietnam) published an article about the above-mentioned fact, a series of other newspapers also jumped into bandwagon Some users of that medicine in Vietnam and the authorities began to worry

A series of other articles in following days mentioned to the fact that Mediator is still sold in many drug stores; many doctors are still provide a prescription for patients (that medicine is used largely in many hospitals of central channel) Afterward, there are many articles about the history of Mediator's appearance in Vietnam's market, some articles reported the anxiety among patients Additionally, there are many other articles announced opinions of the specialists and authorities (in detail, the Medicine Administration Department - Vietnam's Ministry of Health) The subjects of articles mentioned lo different sides but in the same purposes - forcing Ihe Medicine Administration Department to ban the circulation of Mediator in Vietnam terriiory, so as to enhance the damaging effect of this medicine to patients

Until November 22nd Medicine Administration Department (Ministr>' of Health) brought an urgent document out which require Department of Health, distributors took back Mediator immediately, registration number VN-4519-07, produced by Servier Group (France) Following this re\oking command Medicine Administration Department also required Health Department in pro\inces and cities to report and super\ises the treatment, and business foundation in work of stop using Mediator

The chart shows the amount of news/articles published in many newspapers about the topic: Among 10 newspapers that we carried out the sur\ey, the amount of news/articles reported this issue is:

32

14

T i k phong

3

D§n trf

2

VnEx press

2

Nh§n ddn

2

S^i G6n

GM

Ph6ng

0

NOi m^

1

Bilo difn tir BCS

1

Chinh phu.va

1

/ "

Chart 1: The quantity of news or articles on the topic of Mediator

Out of 10 newspapers, the interrelation on the amount of articles in group of 5 self-ftinded newspapers (Group2) and 5 newspapers which are operated by lOO/o

of State budget (Group 1), is arranged:

1

l b *

G r o i p l

mmm\m ^ fwmnor

•fftklts

Grmipl

25

O ^

Group 1 Group 2

Chart 2: The interrelation between 2 press groups

when write about the topic Mediator

Taking a look at the column diagram, we realize: Thanh Nien newspaper,

Tuoi Tre newspaper, Tien Phong newspaper are always superior to the others in

terms of articles number As shown on the pie chart: Group 2 is always

dominant on the quantity of news or articles on this topic When examining these articles, the authors realized their high critical nature, they put pressure to force the authorities to be an insider and require a policy to stop circulating this medicine Meanwhile, Group 1 shows with the modest quantity of news or articles and the subject of them is often vague, even do not dare to ^Violate" the authorities' interests

Analysis and comments: Clearly, in this situation Vietnam's press has held a

big position in suggesting, proposing the authorities to promulgate a new policy When the article is announced, the authorities immediately have to investigate the story and bring out the suitable policy reaction in the face of pressure of media and public opinion

In addition, there have been many cases in Vietnam which are influenced by the press towards the authorities in order to require them to make response (to promulgate) the suitable policy For example, the Vietnam Ship-building Industry Corporation'^ (Vinashin) case Vinashin suffered the losses of thousands

of billions VND - the losses is approximately estimated of 1/20 of GDPs of Vietnam Previously, the press had mentioned to the excessively investment in the business that is not strong point of Vinashin, arranging the descendants of the Management Board to the key positions Surprisingly, everything still happens

normally, Vinashin still brought out the unreliable reports on the corporation business status and the Government continued to pour more and more capital into the corporation Howcvur, when tl^e illegal business is discovered, the press expressed their optniont «id forae the authorities to force them to investigate After that, Vinashin OtWiiul Director cum CEO has arrested The foreign unpaid debt of millions doli ch was secured by the government) have been paid despite of the degdHae T i t oOrponttkm tfien tkas beca restructured After that,

Urn Prime MMllliMiiie his ipologiet ki frcNK of National Coagreas Until now

>*msisa9M»-awMd

(the beginning of May, 2011), the case has not been solved'^ However, in this situation, media has showed their active role to obligate the government to bring out restructuring policy toward Vinashin Group

5.1.2 The influence on the policy drafting

The case "The regulation which regulates flat-chested people can drive motorcycle": As showed in Introduction part, the regulation that flat-chested

people are not allowed to drive motorcycle, was strictly criticized by the press and public community

Policy reactions: At the beginning of October 2008, when draft policy is

announced, by the end of October 2008, Ministry of Health - the promulgator had to withdraw this draft

Numbers of articles on this topic on newspaper:

19

Thanh ni^n

6

Tien phong

2

Ddn trf

4

VnEx press

4

Nhdn dSn

0

S^i G6n Gi^i Ph6ng

2

NOi m6i

2

B^o dif n tir DCS

2

Chinh phu.vn

The quantity of articles is divided into 2 groups of press (self-ftinded and under 100% state budget):

The number of news or

articles

35

Group 1 Group 2

5.L3

Chart 4: The interrelation between 2 press groups when write about the

topic ''The regulation that flat-chested people can drive motor"

Analysis and comments: The pie charts shows that Tuoi Tre Newspaper Thanh

Nien Newspaper (belonging to Group 2) arc still superior to the others in of critical news or articles on this policy and affirm their top-ranking among newspapers of Vietnam Some newspapers belonging to Group 1 have the modest quantity of news and in fact, these news or articles do not perform the critical function but just announcing information Even, Nhan Dan Newspaper and Chinhphu.vn online Newspaper do not have any articles on this topic

Influence on adjusting policies / managing policy / assessing results

In Vietnam, many policies have been developed, however because of Vietnam's rapid changes in reality, many of those are less suitable for the new conditions Those policies have been supported by the press, but with the rapidly changing environment, the press arc requesting those policies be updated to match the new conditions For instance, when inflation is high'\ the newspapers provide much advice from economistt about fiscal policy to reduce the supply of money in order to reduce inflition However, m n y entrepreneurs have become bankrupt due to the lubfe of eltft-up ciq^ital but the newspapOT discuss these mauers to

5.2 Negative influences of the press on public policy, and the "herd

mentality" of the press

Obviously, we can deny the positive influence of the press However, in Vietnam the press can negatively affected public policy For example, the press give opinions on accused people before the court's judgment'^ This mav harm the accused party in front of the court Although this matter is often discussed in terms of journalistic ethics, which some journalists still violate Another mistake

is that sometimes reporters need to protect their benefits, so they keep the case undercover (or inadequately reflect), avoiding the public policy promulgation'*^ Mistakes of the press are caused by the distraction of benefit or inaccurate awareness of the situation In the following case study, we examine a situation, in which the mistake by major newspapers led to the minor ones", which multiplies the blunder

In July 2010, Digital satellite television channel K+ of VSTV company (cooperative unit of Vietnam Television (VTV/VCTV) and Canal^ Canal Overseas of France) announced that they have purchased the executive broadcast right for the seven major football leagues This has been the first time Vietnamese people have had to pay for these channels after free watching for years To protect the rights of Kf (product of VTV and Canal+) ESPN channel and Star Sports channel are also not allowed to broadcast these seven largest football competitions in Vietnam on VCTV s}slem Immediately some newspapers, especially fuoi Tre raised their voice to protect the rights of audiences, and to encourage the government lo discuss this issue and to stop this autocratic approach of K-t In addition, Tuoi Tre newspaper has entitled "Poor people unable to watch international football" and even open a forum in their columns This issue has dcbatably raised two sides of argument of the press

to take viewers' money, liiis means that those newspapers are refusing some benefits of the market economy In addition, the newspapers have called on the

i» Lavvtully, one who lus been ntit sentenced by the court is naturally innocent

I** In the case a policy has not been issued, in iact it is also issuing a policy, so-caiitU quiet policy"

3ft

government to interfere However, the government only interferes in case of essential products like medicine which are crucial for people's lives Government

is not supposed to interfere with the market issues Watching football should be solved within those who have the needs (of football) Those who are affordable would enjoy high quality channels, and the rest would watch domestic football competitions It is the rule of market to encourage the personal investment, and to improve the service quality Generally, the quality of a paid service is higher than

a free one Evidently, it is not a big deal with issues of high cost or someone may take advantage of his position, the thing is that people refuse a market supposed activity

As our survey, almost newspapers in Group 2 raised their voice to criticize the case and support audiences to boycott K+ Other Group 2 newspapers, which have not listed here, also have the "herd mentality" Newspapers in Group 1 have reflected the case in median mode

Number of news/articles on the case:

18

Ti^n phong

4

Ddn tri

4

VnEx press

4

Nhdn din

0

S^i C6n Giai Ph6ng

3

NOi mdi

8

Bi^o di^n tir

DCS

2

Chinh phu.vn

4

^

Ckmi S: The quaruity ofmws or ariicles on tkt tapk "K-^ "

Articles are classified into two groups of newspapers:

The number of

news or articles

Chart 6: The interrelation between 2 press groups

when write about the topic "K-^ "

Analysis of these charts

This ease relates to sports (not contain politieal sense), so it attracts many newspapers to comment on it There have been about 52 news and articles, from all newspapers except Nhan Dan Newspaper From the pie chart, we can see that 75% of the newspapers agree that the government should help to keep these TV broadcasts free, while 25% claimed that viewers should pay to watch some commercial channels Is it true that 75% of newspapers raise their voice lo protect their readers' benefit, or are they still insist on the subsidizing spirit? In

fact, the majority is not always right Under the pressure, the government was forced to be involved Ifhis challenges K+ in implementing their business plans and ideas It will take a ^ n g time for entertaining television service to adjust to nuu'ket economy, especially the situation is a common concern (like football)

^ v

6 Conclusions

Based on the main recognitions of the study, we have some new discoveries on the actual influences of the Press on public policies making in Vietnam We find these theories totally suitable as referred to actual situation of Vietnam

Firstly, the study points out that, in reality, the press has a great influence on

public policies making in Vietnam Unlike the point of views of some Western scholars who assume that: in Vietnam, because the press is considered as the means of Vietnam Communist Party, it has no significance on social criticism in general, and on policy criticism in particular However, some research situations point out that, the press expresses its power on amending some shortcomings of public policies, contributing lo heighten the quality of public policies in Vietnam

Secondly, we can draw a conclusion that, among some newspapers in Vietnam,

those are self-funded ((jroup 2) have belter influence on public polices than the those subsidized by the government (Group 1) This can be explained by this way: one public policy commonly affects the majority of audience, so il will be able to protect the decent interest of the majority Ihat may be the reason why they have to catch up with the breath of life to the majorit\ Ihe newspapers of this group usually express strong words on arguing pubHc policies while the others of Group 1 seem to be "quieter'' The common words of these agencies do not have clear argument against the governmental policies Some newspapers of Group 1 proves "more obedient" (for the fact they live totally on state budget) but in the course of improving the quality of governmental policies, they seem lo have no considerable contributions

Thirdly, the paper indirectly mentions to the role of criticizing society and civil

life of Vietnam showed in many newspapers Clearly, we must emplo\ the articles by specialists or quote their opinions in many articles: it helps the newspapers have some convincing articles which are suitable with criticizmg public policies For this reason, social criticism (along with press) has taken a considerable role in order to influence on public policy in Vietnam The Press, along with social criticism and civil society, has contributed to criticize effectively and improve the policies

Fourthlv in Vietnam, the press ha%'e influence on policies in man> ways There

are two methods: | 1 | Pivss haxe direct influence on policy makers, but tollowing the consultation with some experts |2| press often influence on related bene tit oroup since then, these benefit groups begin to lobb> (or/and use press to maintain the influence) the leaders policy makers Another method consists ot both ways

Fifthly, the authors have thoroughl> cxan ncd to conclude that the mcntalhy and

r stc of current audience for the poHcymakers trom that pomt (.n tuture) the

P C makers will brinu out the suitable publ.e policy to the.r capac,t> to absorb

•nlormation Cons.der.nu the mental.ty and capacU^ to absorb ntonnat.on u.ll

be helpful to policvmakers managers to promulgate a belter policy