Báo chí đồng bằng sông cửu long truyền thông về vấn đề tái cơ cấu ngành nông nghiệp việt nam hiện nay TT TIENG ANH

MINISTRY OF

HO CHI MINH

EDUCATION AND
TRAINING

NATIONAL
ACADEMY OF
POLITICS

ACADEMY OF JOURNALISM AND
COMMUNICATION

LE MINH TAN

MEKONG DELTA PRESS’S
PROMOTION OF
AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
RESTRUCTURING ISSUE IN
VIETNAM TODAY
Major: Journalism
Code: 9320101

DOCTORAL THESIS OF JOURNALISM

HANOI – 2021


The work is completed at
ACADEMY OF JOURNALISM AND

COMMUNICATION
HO CHI MINH NATIONAL ACADEMY
OF POLITICS

SCIENTIFIC INSTRUCTORS
1.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Truong Giang

2.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thanh Loi

Opponent 1: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ha Huy Phương
Opponent 2: Prof.Dr. Nguyen Cong Dung
Opponent 3: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Van Linh

The thesis will be defended before the Academic
Thesis Judging Committee at the Academy of
Journalism and Communication
At……hour….....day month……year 2021
The thesis can be found out at:
- National library of Vietnam
- Library of Academy of Journalism and
Communication


LIST OF PUBLISHED SCIENTIFIC WORKS OF THE
AUTHOR RELATED TO THE RESEARCH TOPIC

1. Le Minh Tan (2018), Mekong Delta press in communication on
agricultural industry restructuring, Nguoi Lam Bao Magazine,
Vietnam Journalists Association, Issue 414 - August 2018.
2. Le Minh Tan (2019), Mekong Delta Television with the issue of
agricultural industry restructuring, Nguoi Lam Bao Magazine,
Vietnam Journalists Association, Issue 426 - August 2019.
3. Le Minh Tan (2020), The Mekong Delta press’s communication
on agricultural industry restructuring, Journal of Political Theory
and Communication, Academy of Journalism and Communication,
May 2020.


4. Le Minh Tan (2021), The needs of Mekong Delta people for AIR
information, Nguoi Lam Bao Magazine, Vietnam Journalists
Association, Issue 448 - June 2021.
5. Le Minh Tan (2021), Evaluation of the Mekong Delta press’s
communication on agricultural industry restructuring, Journal of
Integration and Development, Issue 59, July & August 2021,
University of Economics & Finance of Ho Chi Minh City.


INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale of the Study
1.1. The agricultural sector has made an important contribution to hunger
eradication and poverty alleviation, bringing our country from the starvation to
becoming the world's leading exporter of agricultural products. However, besides the
outstanding achievements, our country's agricultural is developing not in line with the
potential and inherent advantages, showing many limitations and weaknesses. It is
time for agricultural sector restructing (ASR) under the new growth model.

1.2. "ASR" is a major policy of the Party and the State, so the Press in
general and Mekong Delta press in particular enhance the promotion on the issue of
"ASR". For the past time, Mekong Delta press region has played a very important
role in cheering and reflecting the positive aspects as well as the shortcomings,
inadequacies, requirements set out in the process of ASR and has positively impacted
on the process of planning, finalizing and realizing the guidelines and policies of the
Party and the State on ASR. However, due to the scheme of "ASR" was just approved
by the Government in June 2013, Mekong Delta press region has been focusing on
the implementation of promotion and also has not conducted a sociological survey or
research to learn from and evaluate the promotion work for the past 4.5 years.
Therefore, in order to improve the quality of promotion in general, promotion of the
ASR issue in particular, it’s needed to conduct detailed surveys on the quality of
promotion as well as needs and aspirations of the public about this promotion content.
From the reasons as mentioned above, the author chooses the topic of "Mekong
Delta press’s promotion of Agricultural Sector Restructuring issue in Vietnam
today" for Doctoral Thesis of journalism.

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2. Research purposes and missions
2.1. Purposes
The research purposes of the topic are: Initially build the theoretical
framework of the research problem; Survey, analyze the current situation that the
Mekong Delta press’s promotion of ASR in Vietnam today, thereby recommending
solutions to improve the promotion quality in the Mekong Delta region on this issue
in the near future.
2.2. Research missions
To achieve the above purposes, the author of the thesis will perform the
following missions: On the basis of systematizing theoretical issues and summarizing

the practice of the Mekong Delta press’s promotion work of ASR and establishing a
theoretical framework on promotion work of the issue of ASR; Survey and analyze
the current situation of Mekong Deltal press’s promotion of the ASR issue in
Vietnam today, thereby assessing the successes as well as the inadequacies,
limitations and challenges set out in the promotion of "ASR" for press in the Mekong
Delta region; Give opinions and proposals, recommend solutions to improve the ASR
in the coming time.
3. Research subjects and scope
3.1. Research subjects
Research subject: The Mekong Delta press’s promotion of the ASR issue in
Vietnam today; Survey subjects: are the journalism products related to agriculture
and ASR from June 2013 to December 2017; leaders, managers of press agencies,
journalists and the public.
3.2. Research scope
- Scope of survey and research: The thesis focuses on studying the
journalistic types in the Mekong Delta that promote ASR through the journalistic
works, while for other promotion products, because the Mekong Delta press agencies
haven’t had many activities, the thesis only mentioned without surveying these
activities. Four basic types of journalism (written, electronic, radio and television) in
three typical areas of the Mekong Delta: Dong Thap, Can Tho City and Tra Vinh.
4. Rationale and research methods
4.1. Rationale

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The study of this topic is conducted based on the thorough understanding of
documents of the Communist Party of Vietnam for the recent General Assembly
periods, guidelines and legal documents of the State related to the scheme of ASR;
theoretical framework of journalism and promotion; theoretical framework of

sociology; theoretical framework of policy promotion; theoretical framework of
development promotion.
4.2. Research Methods
To accomplish the research purposes and missions, the author uses 8
research methods: Documentary research method is conducted for the published
theoretical scientific works on the press by domestic and foreign authors; Content
analysis method is used to analyze the journalism works of 6 press agencies subject
to the promotion survey on the ASR issue; In-depth interview method is conducted
with experts, scientists who are knowledgeable or interested in the topic or field being
studied; policy makers, managers, specialists, leaders of press agencies, reporters,
journalists and the public; Talkshow and group discussion method is used to collect
many debates and arguments on the ASR issue; Anket questionnaire survey method
was used to measure public acceptance of ASR related journalistic products. Thereby,
it is possible to assess the quality of press products and advertising on ASR.
5. Research questions
What role does the media play in raising awareness of all levels, sectors,
businesses and people in the implementation of ASR? What is the meaning of the
media content and form of the Mekong Delta press for the ASR? What are the
guidelines and policies of the Party and the State for the media work of state media
ASR in the Mekong Delta?
6. Research hypothesis
There have been many research works in this field but none of them has
studied the work of ASR promotion of the Mekong Delta press in a comprehensive
and systematic manner; The press plays an important role in state-owned ASR
promotion; The content and form of communication on state-owned ASR promotion
of the Mekong Delta press contribute to the success of the state-owned ASR
promotion;
6. Theoretical and practical meanings of the topic
6.1. Theoretical meaning

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The thesis is the first scientific work to make a systematical summary, give
the theoretical points and conclusions on a new issue that is ASR promotion.
6.2. Practical meaning
The research results stemming from the thesis's theory and practice can serve
as references for policy makers; people who are directly engaged in activities related
to journalism; serve as documentation for research, teaching and learning activities at
training institutions for journalism officials and all those who are interested in the
topic.
7. Structure of the thesis
In addition to the Introduction, Conclusion, References and Appendix, the
main contents of the thesis are structured into 4 chapters.
LITERATURE REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH TOPIC
1. Theory and practice of the journalism - media: In the world and in the
country, there are many books on theory and practice of the journalism and media
such as: Book "Media Competition and Coexistence: The Theory of the Niche" by
author John W. Dimmick; Book "Media Economics: Theory and Practice" by Alison
Alexader, James Owers, RodneyA.Carveth, C.Ann Hollifield and Albert N. Greco;
"Television journalism" by G.V. Cudonhetsov, X.L. Xvich, Ala. Iurovski; Book
"Competitiveness of the media" by Chinese author Dinh Hoa Can; Book "Media
programming - strategy and practice" by two American authors Susan Tyler Eastman
and Douglas A.Ferguson; "Some new trends of modern journalism and media" by the
author group including Phan Van Kien, Phan Quoc Hai, Pham Chien Thang and
Nguyen Dinh Hau; "Journalism and Multimedia" by chief author Nguyen Thi Truong
Giang; "Journalism in the modern media environment" by Nguyen Thanh Loi;
"Modern journalism and media - reality, issues and comments" by Ta Ngoc Tan.
2. Agriculture, rural area and agricultural sector restructuring: There are
some overseas research works on this field such as: “ASR in advanced societies:

transition, crisis and adaptation” by Commins ; “ASR and Rural Social Change in
Australia” by Lawrence; “ASR in Central and Eastern Europe: Impact on
Competitive capacity and Rural Development” by AH Sarris, T Doucha, E Mathijs;
“Redefinition of Family Agriculture: ASR and Farm Adjustment in Waihemo, New

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Zealand” by Sarah Johnsen; “Rural Restructuring in China” by Hualou Long, Yansui
Liu; overseas research works such as: "Construction of rural infrastructure in the
process of industrialization and modernization in Vietnam" by Do Hoai Nam - Le
Cao Dam; “55 years of agriculture and rural areas in Vietnam” by Nguyen Sinh Cuc;
"Vietnam's agricultural and rural policy in the second half of the twentieth century
and some orientations" by Tran Ngoc But. In addition, there are also books, projects,
articles, deeds, resolutions and legal documents on ASR such as: Scientific
Proceedings in Soc Trang 2014 on ASR topic in many fields; "Human resources in
agricultural economic restructuring in Vinh Phuc province" by Pham Hai Yen;
"Solutions to promote ASR in the direction of increasing added value of Thach That
district, Hanoi city" by Dao Manh Tuan; “Agricultural industry restructuring to adapt
to climate change in Bac Lieu Province today” by Tran Thanh Binh; “Some ASR
experiences in Dong Thap province” by Tran Van Hieu published in the Journal of
Theory - Politics; project of Dong Thap province ASR until 2020, with a vision to
2030 by Dang Kim Son;
3. Regarding the Mekong Delta: There are some remarkable domestic and
overseas research works on the Mekong Delta such as: “Economic breakthrough in
the Mekong Delta” by SANSOM, R.L; “Spatial and temporal distribution of rice
farming system in the Mekong Delta specially related to the seasonal flow of the
Mekong River and Bassac River” by Toshihiro Sakamoto; Book "Mekong Delta
System" by Fabrice G. Renaund - Claudia Kuenzer; "Mekong Delta - An old life
feature" by Son Nam; “Mekong Delta - Location and Potential” by Tran Hoang Kim,

Le Thu and Bui Duc; “Cultural Impression of the Southern Delta” by Huynh Cong
Tin; Proceedings of the scientific conference "Change of agricultural economy
structure in the Mekong Delta in the direction of commodity production" by the
Communist Review;
4. Journalism’s communication on agriculture, rural area and agricultural
sector restructuring: Domestic and overseas research works in this field can be
mentioned as: “The role of print media in disseminating agricultural information to
farmers” by an author group: Shahid Farooq, Sher Muhammad, Khalid M. Chauhdary
and Ijaz Ashraf; “Evaluation of agricultural information needs through statistics of
the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Group” by Bontiebite Badjare; “Trend of the Printed
newspaper: Communication Strategies for Disseminating Agricultural Information”

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by Amanda Ruth-McSwain; “Social agriculture: Through Social Media by
Agricultural Editors and Broadcasters” by an author group including Emily Rhoades
and Kelly Aue; “Strategic Communication on Agriculture in Lualaba: A Challenge to
Face” “Communication stratégique sur la problématique agricole au Lualaba : Un
défi à relever” by Kandal, John Muzembe; “Propaganda issue of "tam nông" (3
agricultural orientations) on television and radio stations in the Mekong Delta region"
by Ngo Thi Ngoc Hanh; Proceedings of the conference "Journalism’s contribution to
the construction of new rural area" referring to the issue of communication of new
rural construction on the newspapers of the Mekong Delta provinces; “Information
and communication model on agriculture, rural area and needs of rural residents” by
Nguyen Kha Thoa; "Printed newspaper with propaganda on building new rural area
in the period of international economic integration" by Hoang Thi Phuong; "The
press with typical information about agricultural-rural economy today"; Workshop
"Improvement of the quality of propaganda on agriculture, farmers and rural areas on
the Party press agencies in the Mekong Delta" by Communist Review in

collaboration with Hau Giang province in January 2013; "Solutions of
communication convergence for agriculture, farmers and rural areas" by Nguyen
Trung Dai.
Chapter 1: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL BASES OF JOURNALISM’S
COMMUNICATION ON AGRICULTURAL SECTOR RESTRUCTURING
1.1. Basic Concepts
1.1.1. Concept of Journalism in this thesis is: Journalism is an information product
about events and issues in social life, expressed in writing, images and sound,
periodically published and distributed to the masses through the media such as print,
audio, video and electronic media.
1.1.2. Concept of communication: Communication is a form of interaction, including
all communication types among individuals to expand understanding in order to
change perception towards adjusting behavior and attitudes in accordance with
development needs of the individual, the group and the community or society in
general.
1.1.3. Concept of agricultural sector restructuring

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1.1.3.1. Restructuring is to rearrange and restructure the model of an organization,
field or industry in order to shape a new organizational model and structure in
accordance with development conditions and orientations.
1.1.3.2. Agricultural industry is a basic material production industry of society, using
land for cultivation and animal husbandry, exploiting crops and livestock as main
labor materials to create food and some raw materials for industry. Agriculture is a
large production industry, including many specialties: cultivation, animal husbandry,
preliminary processing of agricultural products, forestry and fishery. Agriculture is a
special production industry, extremely important to the socio-economic development
of a country because it is the starting industry of the material production process of

human society.
1.1.3.3. Agricultural sector restructuring is a systematic rearrangement towards
increasing added value of agricultural products; synchronously and closely
implement the modern, safe and sustainable agricultural product chain based on 3
factors of "cooperation", "linkage" and "repositioning" of production according to
market demand.
1.1.4. Journalism’s communication on agricultural sector restructuring are to make
branches, levels and people understand the purpose, meaning and have confidence in
the success of the ASR project. In addition to regularly informing the guidelines and
policies of the Party and State on ASR, the journalism also introduces good practices
and effective models as well as promptly reflects inadequacies and difficulties in the
ASR implementation process and indicates the causes to overcome.
1.2. Role and Impact mechanism of the journalism’s communication on
agricultural sector restructuring
1.2.1. Role of the journalism’s communication on ASR: The journalism is the voice
of the Party and State and a forum for the people. In the era of information explosion
and under the influence of Industry 4.0, the journalism thrives in terms of quantity
and quality, so the journalism plays an important role in ASR communication. The
journalism communicates on new guidelines, models and solutions for applying high
technology in agricultural production. At the same time, the journalism also criticizes
and points out the difficulties and inadequacies in the process of ASR implementation
so that branches and levels can adjust and supplement in a timely manner.

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1.2.2. Impact mechanism of the communication on ASR today must be based on a
two-way relationship. The journalism not only informs and communicates on
journalistic works on ASR but also should listen to feedback from the people. The
public, in addition to acquiring information from the journalism and social networks,

can also participate in composing and publishing journalistic works on ASR as well
as criticize and express their viewpoints on ASR. This is the trend of modern
journalism.
1.3. Content and requirements for the journalism’s communication on ASR
1.3.1. Content of the journalism’s communication on ASR issue: ASR is a new
project, so the journalism should focus on communicating guidelines, lines and
policies of the Party and State on ASR; introduce new models, good practices and
point out the limitations of traditional agricultural production and the advantages
upon ASR implementation in the direction of increase of added value and sustainable
agricultural production; give forecasts and warnings about weather, natural disasters,
enemy-inflicted devastation, consumption markets and modern agricultural
production trends of advanced countries in the world. At the same time, the
journalism also criticizes the guidelines and policies in the implementation of ASR.
1.3.2. Requirements for the journalism’s communication on agricultural industry
restructuring
1.3.2.1. Requirements for content: the journalism communicates on the guidelines
and policies of the Party, State, ministries and branches on ASR so that everyone
knows, understands and acquire in order to encourage and build a firm belief for
branches, levels, enterprises and farmers; it is necessary to clearly and objectively
identify the nature of the way of doing, which models are good and which models are
not suitable in practice in order to introduce and replicate models. The content of
information about ASR is interested by many people, is topical, accurate, objective,
honest and easy to understand.
1.3.2.2. Requirements for form: the form of presentation of ASR media products in
the journalism must be prominent and impressive; diversify ASR media products in
the journalism; ensure multimedia for easy access to the public; suitable to the needs,
characteristics, living habits, conditions of ownership of audiovisual equipment and
means of the public.

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1.4. Relationship between the journalism and agricultural sector in the Mekong
Delta
1.4.1. Overview of the journalism in the Mekong Delta: Journalism in the Mekong
Delta existed before 1975, however it has recorded the strongest development from
the date when the South was completely liberated on April 30, 1975 onward. By the
time of survey, 12 out of 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta have had electronic
newspapers except for Tra Vinh. The radio broadcasting in the Mekong Delta also
developed from April 30, 1975, up to now, there have been radio stations in 13
provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta. Television broadcasting journalism have
existed in Mekong Delta region since 1968. In 2017, in the Mekong Delta region,
there were 13 Radio and Television Stations of provinces and cities and a Can Tho
Vietnam Television Center (CVTV), now CVTV has been changed to VTV5
Channel. The stations that have 2 broadcasting channels are: Vinh Long, An Giang,
Soc Trang, Dong Thap and Kien Giang.
1.4.2. Characteristics of the public in the Mekong Delta: The vast majority of
people in the Mekong Delta live in rural areas, living mainly on agriculture, so the
poverty rate is still high. The Mekong Delta is still a bottom land of the education
level of the country, so the awareness of its residents is not high and has not had
conditions to timely access the sources of information. Regarding the personality of
residents of the Mekong Delta, deceased writer Son Nam commented: "The Southern
people focus on practicality in thinking and acting, put their faith on visual and
concrete things rather than what is theoretical and dogmatic".
1.4.3. Overview of agricultural sector restructuring in Vietnam and agricultural
sector restructuring in the Mekong Delta
1.4.3.1. Political and legal bases of ASR: The Party's viewpoint on ASR is reflected
in the Resolutions of the 6th, 11th, 12th and 13th National Party Congresses. Those
guidelines were concretized by Decisions No. 399/TTg, 899/QD-TTg on approving
the Project off "ASR towards improvement of quality, added value and sustainable

development"; Notice No. 2867/TB-BNN-VP on assigning the Institute of Policy and
Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development to build the project of structural
change and ASR of Dong Thap province.
1.4.3.2. Vietnam agricultural industry restructuring: The ASR project sets out the
objective of restructuring of agricultural growth model in parallel with production

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restructuring and organization of supply chain based on market mechanism, based on
supply and demand relationship, agricultural production in the direction of the market
and practical experience in agricultural industry of Vietnam, which can be
competitive with the world.
1.4.3.3. Agricultural sector restructuring in the Mekong Delta: From the guideline
of the Government, 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta quickly developed
ASR projects. Accordingly, the provinces reviewed the area of agricultural
production land and determined the advantages of each region in accordance with the
types of crops and livestock to re-plan the production; deployed many new and
creative models and methods, applied high technology and changed small-scale
production practices in agriculture, with the aim of improving quality, increasing
added value, developing sustainably, which gained very encouraging initial
achievements.
Sub-conclusion of chapter 1: In Chapter 1, the thesis analyzes, clarifies and
concretizes core concepts such as: journalism, communication, restructuring,
Agriculture, ASR, journalism and communication on ASR; clarifies the relationship
between journalism and ASR issue; quite clearly analyzes the Impact mechanism of
the journalism in ASR communication based on a two-way relationship; generalizes
the overview of the agriculture, ASR, ASR in the Mekong Delta and the necessity of
ASR in the current period. The theoretical framework is the basis and argument to
further analyze and clarify the contents in chapter 2.

Chapter 2: CURRENT SITUATION OF MEKONG DELTA PRESS’S
COMMUNICATION ON AGRICULTURAL SECTOR RESTRUCTURING
2.1. Introduction of survey newspapers in 3 provinces in the Mekong Delta: In
the Mekong Delta, in addition to Party press agencies, Radio and Television stations
in 13 provinces and cities in the region, there are more than 30 press agencies outside
the region opening representative offices or permanent agencies in Can Tho city, the
center of the Mekong Delta region. In the thesis, we only selected 4 representative
journalism types (printed newspapers, online newspapers, radio and television) which
are Party press agencies, Radio - Television stations in the center of the Mekong
Delta and representatives of the northern and southern provinces of Hau River. These
are newspapers with typical elements of the Mekong Delta region. At the time of the

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survey, the Mekong Delta has two printed newspapers: Can Tho and Ca Mau,
publishing Daily Newspapers. Tra Vinh newspaper has not had an electronic version.
2.2. Number and frequency of news and articles on agricultural sector
restructuring in survey newspapers: Located in the center of the Mekong Delta,
hence the number of news and articles on agriculture and ASR by Can Tho press
agencies is the highest among 3 survey sites. On the other hand, Dong Thap is the
leading locality in the implementation of the ASR project and has its own funding to
support the journalism in communicating ASR. Therefore, the press agencies here,
especially Dong Thap Television, have had many media programs specializing in
ASR with a variety of genres and content. Although there is the lowest number of
news and articles on agriculture and ASR in Tra Vinh press among 3 surveyed
provinces, the rate of news and articles on agriculture and ASR here accounted for
50% of total general news and articles.
2.3. Content of the Mekong Delta press’s communication on agricultural sector
restructuring

2.3.1. Communication on the guidelines, lines and policies of the Party and the
State and activities related to agricultural sector restructuring: the content is
interested by many people, especially farmers. For printed newspapers, mainstream
and topical information on specialized pages on agriculture and ASR should be
focused on. This information is also converted into online newspapers and Khmer
language newspapers. Regarding the radio and television stations, these contents in
news, news programs, subsections, special subjects, columns, general programs,
magazines and continue to provide information and in-depth analysis by means of of
quick recording, reportage, interview in subsections, special subjects and columns.
2.3.2. Communication on new agricultural production models under the ASR
guideline: The Mekong Delta press informs and introduces many modern agricultural
production models of advanced countries, thereby many ASR models have been
applied and replicated, resulting in improvement of the quality of many agricultural
products and significant increase in income of farmers. This content has the second
highest number of news and articles after the content of communication on
guidelines, lines and policies of the Party and State and activities related to ASR.
2.3.3. Communication on technical solutions, application of scientific and
technical advances in agricultural production according to ASR policy: Mekong

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Delta press has communicated in many different angles: articles, quick recording,
reportage, guidance on the application of advances, science and technology in
agricultural production under the ASR scheme. News and articles on agricultural
production techniques under the ASR guideline appear in most programs from news
programs to subsections, columns, talk-shows, agricultural and fishery extension
programs, agricultural talkshows, live TV program about agriculture, ASR, ASR
magazine.
2.3.4. Communication on planning for production and consumption of agricultural

products: The Mekong Delta press has promoted communication on agricultural
production and consumption planning, many news and articles have analyzed and
demonstrated the advantages of production based on planning in linkage with
consumption and export, which increases the value of agricultural products and
makes the consumption market become stable. This is one of the contents of the
Mekong Delta press that communicate with a less volume than other contents due to
the fact that documents and activities related to this content rarely take place
compared to other contents.
2.3.5. Communication on linkage models, building product chains through the
advice of experts: The Mekong Delta press has had a lot of news, articles and
reportages analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of linking production to
consumption in the domestic and overseas scope; introduced building product chains
in countries with advanced agriculture such as: Japan, Thailand, Israel, Korea...
Because these activities at all levels and branches take place with low density, the
press has less sources of information to communicate on this content.
2.3.6. Criticism of guidelines and policies in the implementation of agricultural
sector restructuring: Many news and articles reflecting and criticizing AIR by the
press have helped the management authorities and functional units to promptly adjust
the inadequacies and supplement appropriate plans and policies. News and articles on
the content of criticizing guidelines and policies in implementing AIR accounted for
2 - 2.5% of ASR news and articles. Because this is a difficult topic segment because
the critical news and articles often appear in major newspapers while local press
agencies are "afraid to touch" professional agencies and management authorities in
localities.
2.4. Media form for agricultural sector restructuring of the Mekong Delta press

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2.4.1. Campaign of communication on agricultural sector restructuring: The press

agencies in the Mekong Delta have not self-organized any communication campaign
on ASR but sticked to activities on ASR of branches and levels to communicate and
have had a lot of news, articles and reportages on ASR communication.
2.4.2. Organization of communication events on agricultural sector restructuring:
Also like the communication campaign, the Mekong Delta press has also only clinged
to ASR issues and events to exploit and inform but not self-organized communication
events on AIR.
2.4.3. Thematic communication product on agricultural sector restructuring
+ Sections and subsections: All journalism types use this genre, but most commonly
use in radio and television. Sub-sections and sections are represented by the genres of
quick recording, reportage reflecting the agriculture and ASR topic segment are often
arranged in bulletins and news programs. The duration of the sub-sections and
sections is from 3-6 minutes.
+ Specialized pages, specialized subjects and columns: Specialized pages,
specialized subjects and columns related to ASR in terms of structure and layout, are
the same as other specialized subjects and columns. Normally, the structure of a
specialized page related to agriculture and ASR in printed newspapers includes a
summary of related news and from 1-2 articles with a capacity of 1,500-2,000 words.
As for the specialized subjects and columns on radio and television, the duration is
from 10 to 12 minutes.
+ Magazines: Printed and electronic newspapers in the Mekong Delta have not had
any maganize specialized in agriculture and ASR. As for radio and television,
recently a number of radio and television stations in the Mekong Delta have opened
many magazines, including magazines specialized in agriculture and ASR. The
duration of radio and television magazines ranges from 10 to 30 minutes.
2.4.4. Expressive form of journalistic works
- Genres
+ News: News about agriculture, ASR are published in news websites, news
programs of all journalism types.
+ Quick recording: This is a journalism type used to report the happenings of events

and issues that have just occurred in order to provide readers and the public with a
quick overview of the development of issues and events. The capacity of this genre in

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printed newspapers is over 500 words, while the duration of quick recording in radio
and television is 3-4 minutes.
+ Reflective and reportage articles: The capacity of reflective and reportage articles
depends on the content and needs of the public but each journalism type has different
capacity and duration. Normally, articles in printed and electronic newspapers have a
capacity of 1,000 words or more, while the duration of radio and television ranges
from 3 minutes to 15 minutes.
+ Talkshow, bridge for farmers: This genre often appears in radio and television
type. As time goes by, the expressive form of live talkshows of the Mekong Delta
radio and television stations has become richer and more attractive. Because
technology and equipment in the field of radio and television are more and more
modern.
+ Radio story: Radio story is one of the lively genres of radio type. Radio talkshows
on agriculture and ASR are often staged from topics of great interest to many people.
+ Reality TV: This is a modern and new television genre. Reality TV borrows stories
from a place or issue about ASR that are interested by the public.
+ Seminar, Conference, Book Release, Leaflet: The Mekong Delta press does not
self-organize these activities but mainly follows the activities of specialized industries
to communicate.
Sub-conclusion of chapter 2: In this chapter, we give an overview of the process of
formation and development of the Mekong Delta press. Regarding the quantity and
frequency of news and articles on agriculture and ASR of 04 journalism genres in 03
surveyed provinces, accounting for 30-50% of the number of news and articles of
newspapers; The Mekong Delta press focuses on communication from the guidelines,

lines, policies of the Party and State and activities related to ASR to the
communication of new models of agricultural production under the ASR guideline.
The Mekong Delta press has invested and improved in form to promote ASR
communication mainly with journalistic products of various genres. The contents and
forms of in the Mekong Delta press in communication on ASR is the basis for further
analyzing the successes and limitations of the Mekong Delta press in communication
on ASR in chapter 3.

14


Chapter 3: SUCCESSES AND LIMITATIONS OF THE MEKONG DELTA
PRESS

IN

COMMUNICATION

ON

AGRICULTURAL

SECTOR

RESTRUCTURING
3.1. Successes and causes of the Mekong Delta press in communication of
agricultural sector restructuring
3.1.1. Successes of the Mekong Delta press in communication on agricultural
sector restructuring: Firstly, the Mekong Delta press helps branches, levels and
people to raise awareness and responsibility for the meaning and purpose, and

actively participate in the implementation of AIR: When implementing the ASR
project, many officials and farmers have not still fully understood and realized the
meaning and purpose of the project. When the Mekong Delta press promotes
communication on ASR, many news and articles reflect, analyze and point out the
limitations of agricultural production in a single traditional style, failing to grasp the
needs of the world, leading to the situations of oversupply "supply more than
demand", substandard agricultural products, high cost price, so it is difficult to
compete with similar products in the world. Thereby, branches, levels and people
clearly understand and actively respond to ASR guideline; Secondly, the Mekong
Delta press points out the difficulties and inadequacies of agricultural production in
the traditional way, at the same time, introduced and guided modern production
models and promoted the application of scientific advances to improve agricultural
products that are qualified, safe and meet the needs of domestic and international
markets: The Mekong Delta press has had many news and articles introducing
agricultural production models of advanced countries, thereby helping farmers
approach and boldly apply scientific and technical advances in agricultural
production. According to the survey result, 36.1% of respondents said that the
Mekong Delta press communicated on solutions to improve quality of agricultural
products, lower production costs, reduce production costs to a good extent; Thirdly,
the Mekong Delta press’s communication on guidelines and policies to encourage
investment in agriculture and ASR have contributed to attracting international
enterprises and organizations to invest in ASR projects, promoting agricultural
growth of the Mekong Delta in particular and Vietnam agriculture in general:
Through the information in the Mekong Delta press on agriculture and ASR,
domestic and foreign enterprises, investors see the potential of Vietnam agriculture

15


and especially the ASR guideline has opened up many opportunities for investors.

Information on agricultural and ASR development orientations, policies to call for
investment, potential of agricultural production areas are valuable information to help
investors study the potentials and advantages of each region, thereby plan investment
strategies in agricultural projects; Fourthly, the Mekong Delta press has also
performed a critical function, pointing out obstacles and inadequacies in the
implementation of the ASR project to help branches and levels make timely
adjustments in direction, administration and planning of guidelines and policies. On
the side of farmers, they also see the limitations and weaknesses and seek to rise up to
adapt to modern agricultural production, in line with the development trend of the
world.
3.1.2. Reasons for the success of the Mekong Delta press in communication on
agricultural sector restructuring: Firstly, the Party and the State are very interested
in communication on agricultural industry restructuring; branches and levels have
been focusing on implementing the ASR project, so it is easy for the press to access
and has a lot of contents and information to organize the production of news and
articles; Secondly, the press promotes communication on agriculture and ASR;
3.2. Limitations and causes of the Mekong Delta press in communication on
agricultural sector restructuring
3.2.1. Limits of the Mekong Delta press in communication on agricultural industry
restructuring: Firstly, the Mekong Delta press communicates on new guidelines and
policies on agriculture and ASR not timely and provides information that makes
farmers become puzzled; Secondly, many information on ASR communicated by the
press does not clearly explain the cause of success and failures as well as lack
direction; Thirdly, some media contents about ASR are not objective and
commercialized, which has negatively affected the perception of enterprises and
farmers; Fourth, there have not been many critical journalistic works on ASR
guidelines and policies.
3.2.2. Causes of limitations of the Mekong Delta press in communication on
agricultural sector restructuring
3.2.2.1. The journalism agency has not yet paid attention to ASR communication:

some press agencies in the Mekong Delta have not been interested in ASR
communication. According to the survey result, 39.1% of respondents for the reason

16


why the leaders of the press agencies have not paid attention to ASR communication
was because they have not had their own funds to communicate on ASR.
3.2.2.2. There is a situation that reporters have not clearly understood and had a
thorough grasp of the issue: When communicating on ASR, many reporters have not
still clearly understood and had a thorough grasp of the issue. The result of the
journalist survey showed that 11.8% of surveyed reporters and journalists said that
the reason for this limitation was that the authors had not understood and firmly grasp
the issue. And 35% of reporters and journalists admitted that the "ASR"
communication work in the Mekong Delta press had been still unspecific
3.2.2.3. Specialized agencies and functional authorities have not closely coordinated
with press agencies to promote communication on ASR: A number of specialized
agencies and functional authorities have not been really proactive and have not had
good coordination with press agencies to promote communication on agriculture and
ASR. Therefore, the Mekong Delta press has not forecasted and warned about risks in
production and consumption of agricultural products. The agricultural industry has
not had many good models in agricultural production in general and ASR in
particular. The implementation funds have been still limited, the press agencies
mainly propagandize according ot the political task.
3.2.2.4. Enterprises and farmers have not really dared to participate in ASR activities
because they do not really believe in ASR policy and have not boldly participated in
ASR activities. There are many reasons, including people's limitation in intellectual
level. Farmers have also not clearly understood about the ASR project.
Sub-conclusion of chapter 3: In chapter 3, with news, articles to communicate on
ASR, survey data from anket questionnaires and practical examples, the thesis points

out the successes and limitations of the Mekong Delta press in communication on
ASR in many different aspects. Specifically, some reporters and journalists have not
beem knowledgeable about the content or knowledge of ASR; have not properly
implemented the principles of professional ethics in ASR communication for personal
and group interests. On the side of specialized agencies, functional authorities, they
have not proactively provided information about ASR for the press. As for enterprises
and farmers, they has not still really believed in the ASR policy. The author also
pointed out the causes of such limitations and successes. This is the basis for us to

17


propose solutions and recommendations for improving the quality of communication
on ASR of the Mekong Delta press in chapter 4.
Chapter 4: SET ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY
OF

COMMUNICATION

ON

AGRICULTURAL

SECTOR

RESTRUCTURING OF THE MEKONG DELTA PRESS
4.1. Some set issues for communication on agricultural sector restructuring in
the Mekong Delta today: Firstly, the viewpoints and perceptions of some local
leaders, specialized agencies and functional authorities have not really paid attention
to ASR communication; Secondly, the requirements for designs and quality standards

of goods and agricultural products of the world have been increasing; Thirdly,
agricultural industry restructuring is a new project, so there are many new issued
contents and regulations. While many reporters and journalists in the Mekong Delta
lack in-depth knowledge of agriculture, there are certain limitations when writing
news and articles on ASR; Fourthly, the intellectual level and receipt of new
guidelines of the Mekong Delta people have been still limited. The target audience of
the Mekong Delta press on ASR is mostly farmers while this is a national low-lying
area in terms of education level. This is one of the major obstacles for the Mekong
Delta press to propagate ASR; Fifthly, some press agencies in the Mekong Delta have
not paid due attention to the communication on agricultural sector restructuring;
Sixthly, the Mekong Delta press needs to change its leadership perspective, orient the
media content according to the Party's new perception and thinking on the issue of
agricultural industry restructuring; Seventhly, the Mekong Delta press timely informs
the Party's lines and policies, the State's guidelines on oriented and comprehensive
development strategy on the issue of agricultural sector restructuring; Eighthly, the
Mekong Delta press encourages and builds people's confidence in the success of the
agricultural industry restructuring project; Ninthly, the Mekong Delta press needs to
reflect and evaluate ASR issues, help branches, levels and people to proactively deal
with inadequacies, stabilize production and stabilize social morale; Tenthly, the
Mekong Delta press needs to respond to the information needs of the public on ASR
in the Mekong Delta.
4.2. Groups of solutions to improve the quality of AIR communication in the
Mekong Delta press

18


4.2.1. Group of macro solutions: Firstly, strengthen the Party's leadership role in
journalism activities in ASR communication; Secondly, the Party and State invest in
capacity improvement for the journalism; Thirdly, the Party and the State have

policies on finance for the journalism to communicate on agriculture, agricultural
sector restructuring;
4.2.2. Group of solutions, recommendations and proposals to ministries,
departments, branches, press management authorities, press agencies and
journalists in communication on agricultural sector restructuring
4.2.2.1. Ministries, departments and branches: Proactively provide information,
create favorable conditions for the press to access sources of information on ASR;
Coordinate with press agencies to organize ASR communication campaigns;
Organize annual press awards on agriculture and ASR to encourage press agencies to
produce many programs and products communicating on ASR.
4.2.2.2. Press management authorities: Orient information content timely for the
journalism; Strengthen inspection, supervision and timely handle violations of
regulations, rules and professional standards in ASR communication.
4.2.2.3. Press Agencies
- Orient the development of communication on ASR, capacity improvement for
reporters and journalists: Be more clearly aware of the importance of the ASR
project; Improve professional qualifications for press managers, reporters and
journalists; Diversify communication methods on agricultural sector restructuring.
- Promote the advantages of each journalism type in ASR communication:
+ Printed newspapers: it is necessary to increase the number of publication periods
and open an electronic journalism version at the same time (Tra Vinh press has not
had an electronic version) and on other social networking platforms: Website,
Facebook, Youtube and Zalo to promote connection and interaction with readers. It is
necessary to renew thinking about the content of ASR propaganda in the printed
journalism, produce brief and concise ASR news and articles with rich information
content, using images, charts, data, quotes, statements of impressively illustrated
characters and expressive form, eye-catching and vivid presentation to attract readers.
+ Electronic newspapers: Mekong Delta press needs to promote advantages, establish
a separate editorial board for electronic newspapers and invest in producing news and
articles in the language of modern journalism; open more specialized pages and

19


specialized subjects on ASR with new, unique and interesting contents that reflect,
analyze and comment on ASR in a profound way. Media forms on electronic
newspapers need to integrate multimedia: photos, audio, video... to attract the public;
Promote interaction between the press and readers.
+ Radio: it is necessary to invest in improving the quality of the content of radio
programs specialized in ASR; open more columns, magazines, radio stories about
ASR issues that are close, easy to understand, practical and meet the needs and
concerns of farmers; Develop modern radio programs, “open radio” programs, reality
radio, interactive radio to enhance the role and direct participation of the public in the
ASR communication program; promote various entertainment types such as radio
stories and feuilletons to convey the message of ASR gently and deeply.
+ Television: it is necessary to invest in improving the quality of ASR
communication contents and forms. In addition to bulletins, news programs and
subsections, it is necessary to carry out many talk-shows, programs of farmers'
bridge, agricultural extension bridge, magazines and reality TV programs such as:
"ASR" magazine, "Overview of Agriculture" magazine, “In Gardens – Rice fields",
live talk-show, "From the Garden to the Street" reality TV program of Dong Thap
Television; "Love of tree and land" column of Can Tho city Television... Invest in
producing live TV programs on ASR, increase the realism and interaction with the
audience.
-

Contents

of

communication

on

agricultural

sector

restructuring:

Comprehensively exploit issues of communication on agricultural industry
restructuring; Introduce good models and practices about ASR of advanced countries;
Promote interaction between press agencies and the public; Well perform the critical
role of the journalism on ASR issues; Diversify contents and forms of agricultural
sector restructuring programs; Arrange the appropriate broadcasting duration and
time of communication on agricultural sector restructuring; Organize for reporters,
journalists specialized in writing about ASR to combine, work in groups, exchange
media information and products; Coordinate with institutes and schools to open a
long-term, large-scale and focused agricultural sector restructuring communication
campaign; Socialize the production of journalistic works on agricultural sector
restructuring in order to create richness and diversity in content; Strengthen linkage

20


and exchange of journalistic works on agricultural sector restructuring among
agencies
4.2.2.4. Management officers, reporters, journalists
+ Managers: constantly self-study to improve their skills in foreign languages,
informatics, use new technologies to improve their knowledge of press management,

approach and apply modern application software in censoring contents and orient
ASR communication more efficiently; Research and update knowledge about ASR to
understand deeply about the contents of the project as well as in the implementation
process to promptly detect, organize and assign reporters and journalists to carry out
news and articles on ASR in a way to closely follow the needs of the public.
+ Reporters and journalists: it is necessary to improve their foreign language and
informatics skills so that they can improve their professional knowledge and can
easily access knowledge, proficiently use new equipment, technologies and
techniques, modern journalism operation skills; become dynamic, innovate thinking,
train professionalism in journalism operation, equip themselves with general
knowledge, enrich specialized knowledge; study in-depth specialized knowledge,
strengthen teamwork to share and exchange in groups specialized in writing on
agriculture and ASR to be able to understand the issue in a comprehensive way, with
the right nature, thereby news, articles on ASR can be produced at a wider scope and
higher quality.
Sub-conclusion of Chapter 4: In this chapter, we raise some set issues for the
Mekong Delta press. On that basis, the author gives groups of solutions and
recommendations: Group of macro solutions to strengthen the Party's leadership role
in journalism activities in ASR communication; Ministries, departments and branches
need to proactively provide information and create favorable conditions for the
journalism to access sources of information on ASR; For press management
authorities, it is necessary to timely orient information to the press, strengthen
inspection and supervision, promptly handle violations of regulations, rules and
professional standards in the ASR communication; Press agencies need to pay
attention to improving the professional qualifications of press managers, reporters
and

journalists; diversify ASR

communication

methods; Regarding

ASR

communication content, it is necessary to comprehensively exploit ASR issues,
promote interaction between press agencies and the public and perform well the

21