Hanoi (VNA) – Amid sweeping changes in global media driven by technology and digital transformation, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), the national news service, has been pioneering innovation, blending new content formats, expanding distribution, and diversifying audiences.
Marking its 80th anniversary (September 15), the VNA is rolling out an ambitious strategy to modernise its operations. The agency is upgrading its technical infrastructure and interactive multimedia products, aiming to build a comprehensive digital ecosystem that keeps pace with global trends and captures the attention of tech-savvy readers.
Digital push reshapes VietnamPlus
VietnamPlus, the VNA’s online newspaper, has spearheaded this shift with a reader-centric strategy. By integrating advanced analytics and smart data tools, VietnamPlus personalises user experiences through tailored newsletters and editorial messages, driving loyalty and sustainable traffic.
Its “mobile-first” strategy has led to a multi-channel presence, with content accessible via smart speakers, Android lock screens, and Zalo app. Its Progressive Web App (PWA) has garnered tens of thousands of downloads, while tools like Google Analytics and Marfeel guide editorial decisions by tracking reader behaviour. VietnamPlus manages roughly 500,000 Google accounts for its newsletter and Web-Push services. Expanding beyond hard news, it now covers education, entertainment, connectivity, and multi-angle perspectives, producing diverse and personalised content.
The newsroom has also embraced automation and artificial intelligence to generate graphics, charts, spelling checks, keyword suggestions, and even a voice-based virtual assistant in Vietnamese. It has pioneered new formats like long-form features, infographics, videographics, data journalism, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) content. In 2024, VietnamPlus launched Vietnam’s first AR-enhanced New Year greeting card, winning a top design prize at the national Spring Press Festival. Its 3D interactive project, a first for the country, earned the WAN-IFRA “Most Innovative Digital Product” award. Another standout, the “Hung ca thong nhat dat nuoc” (Epic of National Reunification) project, blended archival videos, 3D games, data journalism, and podcasts.
VietnamPlus has also built a strong social media presence, with 673,000 YouTube subscribers and 294 million views, alongside nearly 1 million TikTok followers and 12.5 million likes. Its digital efforts earned it a spot among Vietnam’s top five media units, and a top-three ranking among central press outlets in 2023 and 2024 as recognised by the Ministry of Information and Communications.
Its Editor-in-Chief Tran Tien Duan stressed that digital transformation is not a short-term campaign but a long-term and systematic journey with readers at the core. Future plans include investment in quality multimedia, long-form investigative series, and new revenue streams from video, audio, and personalided content.
Beyond VietnamPlus, the VNA’s Tin Tuc and Dan Toc (News and Ethnic Minorities) newspaper ranked among Vietnam’s top digital performers in 2024. Over 90% of their content now incorporates multimedia formats like mega stories, talk shows, podcasts, 360-degree images, and TV news. AI tools have slashed production costs, while upgraded newsroom software has streamlined workflows. In May 2024, Tin Tuc launched a Zalo mini app to broaden its audience, with its website baotintuc.vn ranking among Vietnam’s most influential online media platforms.
Infrastructure overhaul underpins growth
The VNA’s technical centre has been pivotal, deploying a data hub, upgraded servers, and high-speed networks to ensure seamless content delivery globally. Storage and processing capacity has doubled, and internet bandwidth has increased 40%. Secure data, optimised content delivery networks (CDN), cloud computing, and multi-layer cybersecurity have bolstered system stability.
The centre has upgraded technology for nine VNA newspapers and portals, enabling expanded video, graphics, podcasts, and data journalism. AI-integrated content management systems now suggest keywords, extract text, and search images and videos. Dozens of special subwebs have been developed to support political and public information campaigns.
The revamped news production system incorporates AI to boost efficiency while cybersecurity has been fortified through reviews, drills, and modern monitoring. Content distribution now spans social media, mobile apps, smart speakers, and Spotify. A new AI-powered analytics system tracks audience behaviour and search trends, enabling editors to tailor content.
At the national exhibition “80-year Journey of Independence – Freedom – Happiness”, the technical centre showcased the VNA’s history and milestones through interactive displays, graphics, and video clips, engaging visitors with virtual heritage rooms and 360-degree “check-in” spaces.
Secretary of the Party Committee and General Director of the VNA Vu Viet Trang said the agency is committed to accelerating its digital shift to modernise production and distribution. The strategy focuses on building a multi-platform ecosystem powered by AI, big data, and cloud computing, alongside upskilling journalists and editors.
“With leadership and staff commitment, the VNA is building a modern and multi-platform information ecosystem in sync with global media trends,” she said. “The road ahead will be challenging, but a spirit of innovation, initiative, and creativity will keep us at the forefront of Vietnam’s media landscape”./.
