Vietnam Needs More Mechanisms to Protect Journalists

by Phuong Nguyen, June 22, 2017

Although Vietnam’s Law on Press stipulates the protection for journalists, many of them are still being harassed, attacked, with many cases not resolved at all, state media reported, calling for more measures to protect journalists.

According to the statistics from relevant authorities, there were 50 cases of journalist being harassed or attacked while on duties in the last five years.

For examples, last year, a reporter from the Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper was attacked by three people in Hanoi. More recently, in June 2017, a group of journalists from VTV (Vietnam National Television) were hit by a semi-truck in Hanoi.

The situation persists due to the limitations in the laws to protect journalists as passed by the parliament, including the Law on Press and the Law on Access to Information and other regulations. Therefore, appropriate authorities have to work actively to facilitate them carry out their duties and journalists should protect themselves as well, the Lao Dong newspaper urged.

As the print press saw big drops in revenue from its advertisement segment, many newspapers no longer have the money to splurge on raising the income of its staff writers and reporters. This means a growing number of reporters are now trying to make ends meet through illegal means, including bribery.

To ensure the career moral code, the Vietnam Journalists Association has issued 10 regulations on professional etiquette for journalists, yet none of which are legally binding.

In 2016, Vietnam had 18,000 licensed journalists working in more than 850 media agencies.