Press agencies must go side by side with the nation in the cause of national construction and play an active role in fulfilling the country’s important tasks, said Dinh The Huynh, Politburo member and Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Popularisation and Education.

Huynh chaired a conference of the national press in Hanoi on March 19 to review the sector’s performance over the past year and map out orientations this year.

He urged for closer coordination between the authorities and branches at all levels and the press as well as among the national press, so that the press can access authentic information, especially regarding important, complicated and sensitive one that draws public’s attention.

Only when doing so, can the national press well perform their function of guiding public opinions and countering wrong information and hostile allegations, Huynh said.

Furthermore, the national press should give extensive coverage of the country’s renewal process, timely highlighting good examples and patriotic movements as well as drawing attention to the achievements and prospects of the economy.

The Party official said press coverage must be comprehensive and truthful, which requires a high sense of social responsibility and citizen duties of every journalist as well as each press agency.

The conference, which was jointly held by the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Popularisation and Education, the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Vietnam Journalists’ Association, agreed that this year, the national press will continue to report on the government’s solutions and actions to curb inflation, stabilise macro economy, ensure social welfare, restructure the economy and renew growth models.

They will uphold an active role in the fight against corruption, wastefulness and negative phenomena, as well as in providing a forum for social debate, while proactively countering distorted information from hostile forces.-VNA