Portrayal of civil society organisations in print and online newspapers

PORTRAYAL OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS IN PRINT AND ONLINE NEWSPAPERS Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment PORTRAYAL OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS IN PRINT AND ONLINE NEWSPAPERS Authors: Dinh Thi Thuy Hang, PhD Nguyen Thanh Loi, PhD Nguyen Thi Minh Hien, MA Vu Thi Phuong Thao, MA Thế Giới Publishers | | TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 2.1 CONCEPTS AND PERSPECTIVES ON CIVIL SOCIETY & CSOs 2.1.1 Concepts of civil society 2.1.2 Concepts of CSOs 2.1.3 Types of CSOs 2.1.4 CSOs in Vietnam 9 11 13 2.2 AIM OF THE STUDY 2.2.1 Goals 2.2.2 Specific objectives 14 14 14 2.3 METHODOLOGY 2.3.1 Sample 2.3.2 Sampling 2.3.3 Research methods 2.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 15 15 15 17 17 FINDINGS 3.1 SURVEY AND EVALUATION OF POTRAYAL OF CSOs IN PRINT AND ONLINE NEWSPAPERS IN VIETNAM (from 7/2010 to 6/2011) 3.1.1 Form 3.1.1.1 Genre 3.1.1.2 Posting Location 3.1.1.3 Posting Time 3.1.1.4 Source 3.1.1.5 Organisational quotes 3.1.1.6 Illustration Pictures 19 19 19 19 20 21 22 22 23 | 3.1.2 Content 3.1.2.1 Headlines 3.1.2.2 Topics 3.1.2.3 Forms Organisations 3.1.2.4 Fields of Operation 3.1.2.5 Locations of Operation 3.1.2.6 Contributions of CSOs 3.1.2.7 Attitudes toward CSOs 3.2 SURVEY AND EVALUATION ON SOME ARTICLES ON VIETNAMNET DISCUSSING CIVIL SOCIETY AND CSOs (From July 2010 to June 2011) 3.2.1 Role of civil society and CSOs 3.2.2 Attitudes of the state toward civil society and CSOs 3.2.3 Development of civil society and CSOs in Vietnam 3.2.4 Advocating for the development of civil society and CSOs 3.3 GENERAL EVALUATION OF THE SURVEY 3.3.1 Outstanding points about CSOs in the media 3.3.2 Shortcomings about CSOs in the media 3.4 EVALUATION OF INTERVIEW RESULTS 3.4.1 Content of in-depth interview 3.4.1.1 Results of interviews with leaders of management agencies of media organisations 3.4.1.2 Results of interviews with media leaders 3.4.1.3 Results of interviews with reporters 3.4.2 General Evaluation of In-depth Interviews RECOMMENDATIONS 24 24 24 26 28 30 30 31 36 36 37 38 38 39 39 40 41 41 41 42 43 45 47 4.1 COMMON DIRECTION (in promoting the image of CSOs in the Vietnamese media) 47 4.2 SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS 47 REFERENCES 50 APPENDIX 51 | I INTRODUCTION Globally, civil society organisations (CSOs) are very dynamic entities that play an important role in promoting social development In Vietnam, since the country ushered in economic reforms and integrated well with the world economy, CSOs have developed rapidly and been accepted as significant contributors to the nation’s development According to Dr Thang Văn Phúc and Assoc Prof Dr Nguyễn Minh Phương, CSOs in Vietnam are dynamic particularly in serving the needs of individuals and social groups at the grassroots level As of 2010, some 1,700 organisations had been registered to support society in carrying out socio-economic activities1 There are several other organisations working in the field of research, advocacy, and social and economic rights Though the institutions have made a substantial contribution to society, most people still lack or have just a vague understanding of the existence and role of these organisations Many people are not clear about the role of CSOs and why they are important for the country’s development It is because information disseminated through the media about CSOs is still limited On one hand, the CSOs are not active in building and promoting their image And they lack the experience to reach out to the media, send strategic messages, or mobilise societal support for their mission On the other, information in the media about CSOs is neither catchy nor in-depth The issue is how CSOs in Vietnam can become widely known, understood, and supported so that they can contribute more to national development Vietnam now has nearly 19,000 journalists working for over 800 media agencies The Vietnamese media is a mouthpiece of the party and state and, as a forum for the people, has great influence in setting the agenda as well as on the country’s economic development For many years, the Vietnamese media has contributed actively Thang Van Phuc & Nguyen Minh Phuong, Roles of Society Organisations in Developing and Managing the Society, National Politics Publishing House, Hanoi, 2010 | to the fight against corruption, negative acts, and surreptitious deeds of corporates The media is always an important source for disseminating information to the public Besides, people can express their thoughts and legitimate aspirations to authorities through the media The media is an important source of information for both the government and public, and acts as a bridge between them Therefore, CSOs need to use the media as an effective communication channel to communicate messages to the public and promote their social roles and values They also need to use the media to provide information to the government about their role and activities Through this, authorities can better understand their role and activities This can create links, mutual understanding, and trust between the authorities and CSOs Besides, CSOs can promote their image to the public In Vietnam, the term “civil society organisation” is regarded as sensitive by the media and thus often avoided The research group found the term “civil society” being mentioned only 30 times in 460 news articles selected In some documents and articles, the term “civil organization” is used instead of “civil society organization.” Thus, in this study, the two terms are used interchangeably | OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 2.1 CONCEPTS AND PERSPECTIVES ON CIVIL SOCIETY AND CSOs 2.1.1 Concepts of civil society Civil society is a term defined in many different ways in the ideological, political, and legal history of the world There are currently different approaches to this term Civil society in the western lexicon is derived from social life in ancient Greece – the ancient Greek Polis and the Roman city with “free citizens” appeared for the first time in history The term for civil society in Greek is koinonia politike2 (in French: Société Civile, in English: civil society, and in Russian: grazhdanskoe obchtsestvo) Sometimes it is translated as citizen society to emphasise the role of citizens in the society The concept of civil society appeared quite early in Europe The common definitions of civil society emphasise the voluntary spirit of citizens in the protection of their legal rights and values The concept of civil society appeared earliest in England (1594) when it was understood as people living in the community The concept is then understandable from two different angles Some Scottish philosophers (18th century) described civil society as a civilised society with a nonarbitrary state By the 19th century, in Germany, in the political works of Hegel, the term civil society became distinct from the term state.3 Hegel described civil society as part of moral life, which is composed of three elements: family, civil society, and state A selforganized civil society should be considered and regulated by the state, otherwise it would only serve selfish interests and not contribute to the common good Sketches on civil society in history and experiences in our country, updated on Wednesday, May 27th, 2009, at http://www.hcmulaw.edu.vn/ Developing civil society organisations in Nghia Binh Commune, Nghia Dan District, Nghe An Province Developing civil society organisations in Nghia Binh Commune, Nghia Dan District, Nghe An Province | K Marx discussed civil society in his early works on German ideology and Jewish issues Like Hegel, he regarded civil society as a historical phenomenon, the result of historical development that was a “gift” of nature, and temporary The fundamental difference between the viewpoints of Marx and Hegel is the starting point in analysing the nature of civil society and the state, and the relationship between them While Hegel started out from the view of “common sense” and “Absolute Idealism,” Marx took real life and mode of production as the starting point He believed that only when human power was organised into social and political power would the emancipation of humans be complete Thus, the term civil society has had different connotations and implications through various historical periods The common point is the adjective “civil” which describes social relations adjusted from a civil orientation, as distinct (relatively of course) from the state Thus, this term should be used to refer to institutions “outside of the state.” 2.1.2 Concepts of CSOs In the simplest sense, “organisation is a group of people working together.” In the broader sense, “organisation is the assembly of many people into a group, committee, and association for the purpose of operating or managing a job.”5 According to the World Alliance for Citizens (CIVICUS), civil society is “the arena outside of the family, state, and market where people associate to advance common interests.” Accordingly, to improve the effectiveness of the state, it is necessary to base on the relative power of market and civil organisations Civil organisations can be both partner and competitor of the state in the provision of public services; they can bring positive pressure to bear on the government to improve the supply and quality of public services.6 Due to the historical context and the different relationships between the state and society, there are different approaches and perspectives Concept on civil society organisations, published on October 29th, 2009 at http:// www.ytecongcong.com/index.php? PhD Thang Van Phuc, Asst Prof Nguyen Minh Phuong, Roles of society organisations in developing and managing the society, National Politics Publishing House, Hanoi, 2010 10 | LIST OF 13 ARTICLES DISCUSSING CIVIL SOCIETY ON TUANVIETNAM.NET 10 11 12 13 Civil society will become more necessary If there is no exemplariness in productivity, how can one direct? Democracy, technology and speech are slow Only when the Party renews, the country can achieve a breakthrough Salary and illegal income of state officials To fight against land corruption: To reduce the monopoly of the administrative system See the basket to fill the rice, don’t count crabs in the hole State of Law, civil society and …Vedan When all the decisions are collectively made Multifunctional cadres and the hole in the mechanism Administrative reform, why is it so tardy? To restrain inflation, don’t allow ‘fishing in troubled waters’ Vietnam to avoid the ‘natural resource curse’ 3.3 GENERAL EVALUATION OF THE SURVEY 3.3.1 Significant points about CSOs in the media 3.3.1.1 About the topics of the articles The popular topics among the surveyed news and features were relief assistance, donation, charity, and compassion followed by education, development, and community support Among the topics in the news such as HIV/AIDS, violence prevention, gender equality, and climate change, violence prevention and gender equality were not brought up much in the news and features about CSOs News and features on relief assistance, donation, charity, compassion appeared in equal proportion in print and online media However, stories about education, development, and community support in print were four times higher than in online media 3.3.1.2 About information relating to CSOs In general, the print media only mentioned the names of society | 39 organisations The online media had some in-depth articles about civil society organisations Among the organisations mentioned, INGOs were the most covered, followed by CBOs and then VNGOs The research group contended that INGOs are bigger organisations with more sponsors and relief activities and their activities usually influence the media and attract its attention They may have abundant financial resources for communications 3.3.1.3 Contributions of CSOs Only over a fourth of the surveyed news and features reported about the achievements of the organisations through specific statistics or general estimates However, the articles mentioned achievements to confirm the contributions made by CSOs in such fields as education, community support, and combating HIV/AIDS 3.3.1.4 Attitudes toward CSOs In both the print and online media, the public groups quoted the most were representatives of society organisations/society staff It meant that the representatives of society organisations had the opportunity to have their comments published in the media Most of the comments from this group were positive The public groups with the second highest number of comments in print were politicians and/or authorised people but online they were overtaken by community and/or citizens The research group also looked into positive comments at different levels and found that most of the positive comments agreed that the organisations or activities of the organizations are useful for people Therefore, society organisations were positively viewed by the public A majority of journalists’ comments on society organisations were positive Most of them were comments on the positive impacts made by the organisations on people 3.3.2 Shortcomings of CSOs in the media Through the survey, the research group noticed the following shortcomings in reporting about the activities of civil society organisations: Firstly, the image of society organisations in the media was not 40 | sharp but blurred since they were reflected in short pieces of news, which somewhat obscured the objectives of the messages Moreover, pictures were not usually included and were not placed in important positions Such pieces of news not create impressions or influences on society There has been no real debate about civil society unlike other subjects such as businesses Secondly, the contents were not interesting and lacked human interest, so they were not attractive for readers Some headlines were vague and uncreative Thirdly, the manner of reporting on society organisations appears unnatural, since the information was formalistic and unattractive, and the activities of CSOs were reported insipidly It could result from the fact that society organisations did not work closely with media, or, even if they did, only provided information relating to events Another possibility is that the events organized by the CSOs may not relate to hot, topical issues, and so failed to attract journalists’ interest On the other hand, journalists may not have realised the importance of the activities held by the CSOs Fourthly, studying CSO-related articles published during the period of more than one year, the research team did not find any series of activities by any CSOs This may mean CSOs had not had communications strategies They seem to provide information about their organisations’ activities only when they needed it to be published However, such articles with dry, insipid, and nonnewsworthy content will not grab the public’s attention Finally, all the few articles published on TuanVietnam.net were written by experts or were interviews with experts Some of them while providing a comprehensive view on civil society confirmed that civil society was still a “sensitive” issue 3.4 EVALUATION OF IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW RESULTS 3.4.1 Content of in-depth interview 3.4.1.1 Results of interviews with leaders of media organisations The research group conducted in-depth interviews with some media bosses They agreed that the image of civil society organisations | 41 was not deeply or clearly reflected in the Vietnamese media, except in the case when the WWF listed Vietnamese tra fish in the red book Communication about society organisations in the media remained formal and lacks a good strategy The heads of media organisations thought that soon the Vietnamese media would need to pay more attention to communicating about civil society organisations Notably, an executive said that the media’s perception of civil society organisations should be corrected, so that media can contribute appropriately to the development and democratisation of the society 3.4.1.2 Results of interviews with media leaders The research group conducted in-depth interviews with some media leaders (four people) including an editor-in-chief, deputy editors-in-chief and a news general manager The interviewees said newspapers wrote much about civil society because the activities undertaken by civil society organisations had a certain influence on social life and public interest Information relating to Vietnam released by society organisations was a source reference and information for the media Therefore, it could be seen that the media paid attention to the activities of civil society organisations when they had a strong influence on the public Most of the media managers not give specific instructions to their reporters before they are sent out to write about the activities of civil society organisations But they basically required stories on society organisations to be in line with the motto of their media outlet and readers’ demands The information had to be accurate, truthful, and not against the laws or policies of the state or habits and customs, or subvert the policy of national unity The media chiefs did not differentiate between reporting on civil society organisations and government organisations The most important thing for them was that the information must be of interest to the public In their interviews, they said that having stories with pictures depended on the information to be conveyed to the public The reason that news and feature stories on the activities of society organisations 42 | did not usually carry illustrations or pictures was that the activities did not have much influence on society or pique public interest When editing news and features on civil society organisations’ activities, media bosses realised that most of the activities related to relief assistance, rescue, education, development, and community support because each society organisation had its own functions and goals At industry and organisational newspapers, the editors also focused on the activities of society organisations which coincided with their own goals For example, news and features in Thanh Nien are to a great extent about youth Vietnamese Women and Rural Today usually report about associations and unions Nhan Dan reports about central organisations Two online media agencies, vnexpress.net and vietnamnet.vn, report mostly about events in the news and of interest to readers Generally, media managers are interested in the activities of civil society organisations The interviewees confirmed that society organisations have a relatively important role to play in the society One person referred to developed democracies where they encouraged the establishment of society organisations to represent different groups in society and operate within the legal framework of that country On the other hand, media managers want to have more voices from civil society organisations since society needs to listen to legitimate voices Moreover, if these society organisations’ activities are for the common goal of advancing the community, they need to be supported and multiplied The media in general thus has the responsibility of supporting those good goals But a media manager said that the publication of any information depends on whether the activities of a society organisation influences society and interests the readers 3.4.1.3 Results of interviews with reporters The research group interviewed four reporters from different media organisations Most of the reporters held that society organisations are important in any society Most of these organisations’ activities are highly social | 43 and communal in character and there are positive activities that many people are interested in When asked about the number of news and features reported about society organisations’ activities, some of the interviewees said this number is small and did not reflect the activities of these organisations One reporter said these organisations carry on with their activities every day and every hour with many outstanding events If they had been truly reflected, the number of news and feature stories about their activities would be higher than the researchers found Most of the reporters said information about society organisations’ activities were mostly in the form of reportage and short news, not commentary The reason is that many civil society organisations not care about providing in-depth information to the media Moreover, some media organisations in Vietnam tend to focus on hot-button issues and problems in the society and report more about negative than positive events Some positive features about the activities of society organisations were considered to be PR to polish their names and so were not published as in-depth articles illustrated with pictures One reason why the activities of the society organisations did not attract the attention of the public was that many readers mainly read articles about negative things and crime They ignore development and community support activities and indepth information The interviewees said stories about civil society organisations usually focus on the three following aspects: - Activities that are highly social and communal in nature - Projects and events pertaining to the community - Issues of social concern The topics that reporters are interested in while reporting about civil society organisations are what they for the community e.g relief assistance, helping the poor, building infrastructure in disadvantaged regions, socio-cultural issues, education and healthcare 44 | Asked about the sources for their stories, most of the interviewees said they attended press conferences and joined activities undertaken by society organisations Some reporters said they got information from people who benefited from projects launched by society organisations Following that, they approached official sources from other society organisations The purpose of reporting on these society organisations was to help the public know if the activities of these organisations influenced them For example, when a society organisation warned the public about a disease, the reporters immediately find ways to approach the source to have news and features about measures to deal with it Therefore, this information, once published in the media, helps society organisations work more efficiently to serve society better A reporter said some news and features about society organisations could influence the awareness of local authorities, helping the localities develop Generally, the reporters said, citizens-based, community-based organisations, NGOs, funds, and associations have an important role in society because they are trying to serve the community For instance, the Association of Parents with Autistic Children and organisations to support abnormal children are places for those who are in similar situations to help one another Most of the reporters said that any activity performed by legal organisations that benefit the people and community should be given importance The view of reporters specialising in this field is that the media should regularly report about civil society organisations to help the public understand more about their activities The public can then find support and assistance from them when required 3.4.2 General Evaluation of In-depth Interviews By interviewing the chiefs of media organisations, media managers, and reporters about the activities of civil society organisations, the research group learnt that they all deeply appreciated them They said that these activities have a positive impact on society and facilitate its development However, some leaders of media organisations said relations | 45 between civil society and media organisations are not close and the former only contact the latter when they need Besides, some information they provide the media does not interest the public The journalists said CSOs’ public images should be further promoted, so as to get the public understand CSOs’ important role in social development 46 | RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1 GENRAL DIRECTION (in promoting the images of CSOs in the Vietnamese media) Civil society organizations are considered components of a modern society, so media management agencies in Vietnam should have a more comprehensive and broader view on the activities of civil society organizations The activities conducted by civil society organizations should be considered impetus to develop the society Besides, the civil society organizations should build strong relationships and collaboration with legislatures, like the Legislative Committee of the National Assembly, and with a number of central departments of the Party and the government, to advocate for the support of these agencies for the activities implemented by the CSOs for the benefit of the community and society Civil society organizations should have communication strategies, with short, medium and long term action plans The relationships with media organizations from central to local levels should be built up Civil society organizations should take into account the role of media while designing community and social activities The civil society organizations themselves should also have new, creative activities, for the public to easily realise their significant role in the country’s development The quality in their activities should be improved, new way to reach the media should be found out, so that CSOs could become a focus of media and the media could actively communicate about CSOs 4.2 SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS To consolidate and improve the image of society organizations in Vietnamese press, society organizations should be proactive in the communication process in the upcoming time First, leaders of society organizations need to change their mindset of communication, diversify their events and activities and to make | 47 the events become engaging and attractive to the public Especially, leaders of civil society organizations should consider the press as the most efficient communication channel to promote their images among the public They can sign long-term cooperation agreements with media organizations to sponsor information about their activities Second, CSOs should have a communication officer or even a communication department responsible for preparing communication plans and contacting the press and monitoring how the press cover the organizations The person in charge of communication should have knowledge about the press, and skills of gathering and processing information, writing and editing stories He or she should have a dynamic personality and good foreign language competence Also, CSOs need to train, or send their communication officer and other staff to training courses on communication so that they can provide the information journalists need, not only the information they have Third, CSOs should establish a network of reporters who work closely with society organizations and write about their activities Monthly reports on activities of the organizations should be sent to the reporters so that they are fully informed and actively contact the organizations to get specific information of their concern Fourth, CSOs should have their own websites which link with social networks that Vietnamese people favour such as facebook, twitter, zingme This is a cheap but effective communication channel However, to this, civil society organizations should have IT staff to maintain the operation of the website The website should be updated regularly with the information about the activities of the organizations so that reporters and the public can have chance to get more information from the website and have closer relations with the society organizations Fifth, CSOs should work more closely with experts and researchers on civil society to promote deeper and broader discussions in the society They are effective communicators for CSOs as in the case of articles published on Vietnamnet The opinions of experts and researchers who understand civil society will give the public a correct understanding of civil society 48 | Sixth, groups or associations of civil society organizations that have common goals should be established to utilise common resources These groups/associations have the responsibility to advocate the press to improve the public images of their groups/ associations and members Within those groups/associations, there should be a communication department that works independently with independent budget When one member of the groups/ associations organize an event, all members are responsible to help and share information This model of communication can help small and newly-established organizations, which are unable to have their own communication personnel, to promote their images in the media Seventh, the last but very important recommendation, CSOs should co-ordinate with capable media agencies or with Vietnamese Journalists Association to organize training courses for reporters in political and social fields on civil society and activities of CSOs On the other hand, civil society organizations working in the same field can co-organize specialized conferences and workshops, inviting reporters to take part not only to write about the events, but also to have chances to understand better and have closer relations with civil society organizations | 49 REFERENCES Alexa.com on November 18th Andrew Wells-Dang, Informal Pathbreakers: Civil Society Networks in China and Vietnam, University of Birmingham Research Archive, 2011, p.24 Concept on civil society organizations, published on October 29th, 2009 at http://www.ytecongcong.com/index.php? Developing civil society organizations in Nghia Binh Commune, Nghia Dan District, Nghe An Province http://www.hcmulaw.edu.vn/ Le Thi Thanh Huong: Civil society in Malaysia and Thailand Social Science Publishing House, Hanoi, 2009 Pham Bich San, The Cooperation between Non-governmental Organizations and State in Vietnam: the Prospect of Restructure?, Annual Conference of Non-governmental Organizations in Vietnam, 2011 Thang Van Phuc & Nguyen Minh Phuong, Roles of society organizations in developing and managing the society, National Politics Publishing House, Hanoi, 2010 Sketches on civil society in history and experiences in our country, updated on Wednesday, May 27th, 2009, at http://www.hcmulaw.edu.vn/ 50 | APPENDIX LIST OF KEY WORDS FOR SAMPLING Form of Organisation Field of Operation Organisation - Non-governmental (NGO) - Not-for-profit - Civil Society (CSO) - Community - Community-Based (CBO) - Social Fund - Education - Philanthropic - Golden Heart - For the Poor - Charitable - Community Development - Supporting Group - Charitable - Working - Volunteer - Community Association - Education - Rescue - Charitable - Philanthropic - Natural disaster mitigation - HIV/AIDS - Anti-violence - Natural conservation Club - Philanthropic - Volunteer - Environment protection - Climate change - Community education - Natural conservation - Innovative | 51 Cooperative group - Poverty reduction - For the poor - Farmer/rural area Establishment - Philanthropic - Charitable 52 | | 53 ...Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment PORTRAYAL OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS IN PRINT AND ONLINE NEWSPAPERS Authors: Dinh Thi Thuy Hang, PhD Nguyen... Role of civil society and CSOs 3.2.2 Attitudes of the state toward civil society and CSOs 3.2.3 Development of civil society and CSOs in Vietnam 3.2.4 Advocating for the development of civil society. .. 18 | 3 FINDINGS 3.1 SURVEY AND EVALUATION OF PORTRAYAL OF CSOs IN PRINT AND ONLINE NEWSPAPERS IN VIETNAM (between 7/2010 and 6/2011) Of 460 articles surveyed, 447 articles were coded and 13,