Perhaps the greatest tragedy of journalism in Việt Nam is that many reporters clearly understand what their profession ought to be, yet they cannot actually practice it. They know that journalism is not merely about publishing official statements or repeating the words of those in power, but rather about standing on the side of truth and the public.
This limitation is not merely the impression of outside observers. A study on Vietnamese journalists, “The Gap Between What They Say and What They Do: Journalists’ Role Conception and Role Performance in Socialist-Communist Context,” published in 2023 in the journal Journalism Studies, reached a similar conclusion.
The research found that there is a significant gap between the professional ideals Vietnamese journalists believe in and what they are actually able to do in practice. [1]
Ideals Colliding with Structures of Power
Many Vietnamese journalists actually understand what their work should look like. The research team surveyed 280 journalists across various media organizations and analyzed more than 1,000 of their articles.
The results indicated that many still value core journalistic roles, such as monitoring power, serving the public, providing useful information, and explaining social issues.
This data demonstrates that Vietnamese journalists are not ignorant of what genuine journalism means; rather, what they believe and what they are able to do in reality are entirely different matters.
It is not difficult to understand why this gap exists. In free press systems, journalism is an institution independent from the state, designed to monitor power, question authorities, investigate wrongdoing, and force officials to answer to the public. Vietnamese journalism, however, is not organized to perform these functions.
According to the study, Việt Nam’s media system operates under tight state control. Media organizations must obtain licenses, journalists must hold official press cards, and the Communist Party forces newsrooms to comply with its political directives.
Furthermore, media representatives regularly receive guidance on which subjects to avoid and how to report on sensitive issues.
As a result, the structure of the profession embeds these limits directly. The disconnect between what journalists think and what they do ultimately stems from the clash between professional ideals and the constraints of the current media system.
Vietnamese Journalists Live Under “Double Constraints”
The study found that the more dependent media outlets are on the state, the harder it becomes for journalists to practice their ideals. Finances are a significant part of the problem. When a newsroom survives on state funding and operates within the machinery of power, a journalist’s professional freedom becomes constrained; the deeper the dependence, the harder it is to work independently.
To illustrate this point, the study divides Vietnamese media into three relatively distinct groups.
The first consists of organizations almost entirely funded by the state, such as Nhân Dân, Sài Gòn Giải Phóng, VTV, or VOV. With personnel, infrastructure, and operating costs tied to state budgets, these organizations primarily exist to transmit the Communist Party’s policies and official ideology.
The second group includes partially state-supported outlets like Tuổi Trẻ, Thanh Niên, Lao Động, or VietnamNet. These outlets enjoy a broader market space to cover social issues and entertainment, yet they remain within the framework of political control.
The third group features almost entirely financially self-sufficient organizations that operate like media businesses, such as Kênh14, Soha, or 24h.
However, the Vietnamese media environment does not function according to a simple formula in which “less state involvement equals more freedom.” While journalists in state-dependent outlets struggle to practice their ideals, financially independent outlets are not inherently freer. They merely shift their dependence to the market.
The study clearly describes this transformation in the context of Vietnamese journalism after Đổi Mới.
Beginning in the 1990s, the state pushed for “financial autonomy,” forcing media organizations to generate their revenue rather than relying entirely on state funding. As a result, newsrooms became dependent on advertising, sponsorships, circulation, and online traffic.
Once clicks became essential for survival, journalistic practices shifted. Long-form investigative reporting and policy criticism require substantial effort and risk without guaranteeing large audiences. In contrast, celebrity scandals and sensational stories draw immediate attention.
The study found that tabloid-style media organizations tend to prioritize emotionally provocative content and nationalist themes over monitoring power. In Việt Nam, content focused on anti-China sentiment, football, or nationalism easily attracts public attention while remaining politically safe.
As a result, two simultaneous pressures trap Vietnamese journalists. They face strict political restrictions, unable to step beyond permitted boundaries, while also battling fierce commercial pressures to produce fast, sensational, and emotional content.
Caught in this dual constraint, the most essential forms of journalism—long-term investigations, accountability reporting, and defending vulnerable groups—gradually become the hardest to sustain.
Journalists Who Have Stepped Outside the State’s Control
Despite these systemic constraints, the history of Vietnamese journalism shows that there have always been individuals willing to step beyond the limits imposed by the state.
However, they often pay a very high price for their defiance. The consequences range from losing their jobs and having their press credentials revoked to facing monitoring, harassment, assault, or imprisonment. Others eventually leave the country to continue writing in exile. According to Reporters Without Borders, more than 70 Vietnamese journalists are currently imprisoned for journalistic activities or for expressing independent views. [2]
The existence of these dissenting voices demonstrates a crucial point: the core problem with Vietnamese journalism is not a lack of individuals who want to practice genuine reporting. There have always been professionals willing to uphold their ideals.
The harsh reality is simply that, within the current media system, making that choice requires sacrificing personal safety, career stability, freedom, and the possibility of a normal life.
Given this context, it is easy to understand why many other journalists choose to remain safely within the system’s confines.
***
Not everyone dares to step beyond the limits imposed by the system. While one might disagree with the concessions many journalists make within the state press, their reasoning is perfectly understandable: they simply need to survive.
Within this restrictive media environment, individuals are forced to make difficult choices. Some opt for silence, while others adapt. Some attempt to do what is right within the narrow spaces the system allows, and a brave few accept paying the price to step outside it entirely.
Author’s note: On the birthday of journalist Phạm Đoan Trang, I write this piece as a tribute to those who have accepted to pay a price to live according to their journalistic ideals.
Thúc Kháng wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on May 27, 2026. Đàm Vĩnh Hằng translated it into English for The Vietnamese Magazine.
1. Vu, H. T., Trieu, L. T., Nguyen, G. T. T., & Nguyen, N. T. M. (2022). The gap between what they say and what they do: Journalists’ role conception and role performance in Socialist-Communist context. Journalism Studies, 24(2), 288–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670x.2022.2159858
2. Reporters Sans Frontières. (2025). RSF – Reporters Sans Frontières (Author): “One year into his rule, Vietnamese leader To Lam continues his all-out war on independent journalism,” Document #2128313 – ecoi.net. Ecoi.Net. https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2128313.html
