Become a Member for $9.99/month

The fate of major newspapers such as Thanh Niên, Người Lao Động, Pháp Luật TP.HCM and others remains uncertain.

Driving the News: On May 28, the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee decided to establish the Ho Chi Minh City Press, Radio, and Television Agency.

City Party Secretary Trần Lưu Quang said that the move “closely follows the central leadership’s directives,” creating conditions for the press to “develop professionally and modernly” and “meet the increasingly high demands of information and propaganda work.”

However, the press release did not explain how the new agency would be formed or what its structure would look like.

That same day, many journalists posted on social media expressing their feelings about the decision, including a message from communications expert Nguyễn Thanh Sơn, “A Sad Day for Hồ Chí Minh City Journalism.”

Journalist Lưu Nhi Dũ, who spent 30 years at Người Lao Động, said that after the new agency is established, only three outlets—Sài Gòn Giải Phóng, HTV, and Tuổi Trẻ Online—will “retain their brands and organizational structures” according to the policy of Hồ Chí Minh City. However, he also said it remains unclear how other Hồ Chí Minh City newspapers will be “reorganized.”

The Context: As the country’s economic engine, Hồ Chí Minh City is home to many well-known, profitable, and financially autonomous newspapers and broadcasters, including Thanh Niên, Người Lao Động, Pháp Luật TP.HCM and Công An TP.HCM.

Under the general framework, Hồ Chí Minh City is allowed to have only one newspaper. Other newspapers must either be shut down or merged into that single outlet. But it remains unclear which restructuring option the city will choose for these publications.

In November 2025, Hồ Chí Minh City announced that it would temporarily halt the establishment of the Hồ Chí Minh City Press, Radio, and Television Agency, saying it needed to complete a new and more suitable proposal.

In February 2026, Hà Nội established the Hà Nội Press, Radio, and Television Agency and merged six media organizations into it: Hà Nội Mới, Phụ Nữ Thủ Đô, Lao Động Thủ Đô, Kinh Tế và Đô Thị, Tuổi Trẻ Thủ Đô, and Hà Nội Radio and Television.

The Bigger Picture: The media restructuring in Hồ Chí Minh City is part of the Communist Party’s sweeping overhaul of the state media system, which began in early 2025 and has forced numerous newspapers and broadcasters to either close or merge.

As of December 2025, Việt Nam had 137 newspaper agencies, down by 58 from 2019.

In March 2026, the Communist Party transferred three state-run media and news organizations—Việt Nam Television, Voice of Việt Nam, and the Vietnam News Agency—to direct Party control.

Việt Nam has no private press. Its media system is officially known as the “revolutionary press.”

Under the Press Development and Management Plan through 2025, “the press is a means of information, a propaganda tool, an important ideological weapon of the Party and the State, and a forum of the people, placed under the direct and comprehensive leadership of the Party and the management of the State, operating within the framework of the Constitution and the law.”

Hoàng Nam wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on May 29, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights to the English translation.

HCMC Follows Hà Nội in Merging Press, Radio and Television Agencies

RELATED POSTS

VTV Blurs Documents in Nguyễn Sỹ Cương Report Following Online Backlash

Vietnamese Schools Are Teaching Everything Except Freedom

VTV Report on Fatal Hà Nội Crash Draws a Flood of Questions Online

Hoàng Nam

Related Posts

VTV Blurs Documents in Nguyễn Sỹ Cương Report Following Online Backlash

VTV Report on Fatal Hà Nội Crash Draws a Flood of Questions Online

VTV Confirms Nguyễn Sỹ Cương Exempted From Criminal Liability in Fatal Hà Nội Car Crash

Hà Nội Universities Warn Students Against Memorials Linked to Nguyễn Sỹ Cương BMW Crash

Việt Nam Social Media Pages Delete Posts Teasing VTV Report on Nguyễn Sỹ Cương Case

Police Cleared Gen Z’s “Justice Tree.” Then the Internet Made It Impossible to Erase

Việt Nam, Thailand Renew Pledge to Bar Opposition’s Political Activities Across Borders

Tô Lâm Warns Asia Of Superpower Rivalry As Việt Nam, Thailand Tighten Grip On Dissidents

OPINIONS

The Myth and the Heretic: How Việt Nam’s Censorship and Recent Book Ban Suffocate Supporters

The Hồ Chí Minh Myth: Why Việt Nam’s Government Relies on the Symbol

The Bắc Ninh Diocese: Doing the Journalism Việt Nam’s State Media Leaves Undone

POPULAR STORIES

Religion Bulletin – April 2026 – Việt Nam Passes Amended Religion Law As Authorities Prosecute Four Independent Protestants

The Strait of Hormuz Crisis: How Việt Nam is Handling the 2026 Global Oil Shock

Post-1975 Tragedy: The Grim Reality of Life in Vietnam’s Re-education Camps

Memory in Print: The Death and Resurrection of South Vietnamese Literature

The Forgotten German Veterans of Việt Nam