The media needs to report on and collect feedback from draft documents being prepared for the upcoming 12th Party Congress, a senior Party functionary has said.

Mr. Le Hong Anh.

Speaking at a conference held in Ha Noi on Wednesday, Le Hong Anh, Politburo member and permanent member of the Secretariat of the Party's Central Committee, described the Congress as the "core political task" of 2015.

He said the event assumed great importance in the context of "complicated and unpredicted" regional and global developments.

The media should, therefore, pay greater attention to the resolutions, guidelines and conclusions of the Party and State on issues relating to socio-economic development, protecting national sovereignty over seas and islands, and demarcating borders, Anh said.

Dinh The Huynh, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and head of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Publicity and Education, said 2015 would be marked by many important political and socio-economic events.

He called on the media to facilitate the strengthening of social consensus on implementing the guidelines, policies and measures designed by the Party and Government.

The media should promptly come up with effective communication plans regarding the organisation of Party Congresses at all levels in the run up to the Seventh National Party Congress, he said.

A report tabled at the conference said that throughout 2014, the media performed strongly, citing as evidence accurate, comprehensive and timely coverage of all aspects of life.

In doing so, it made active contributions to the task of national construction and defence and the building of socialism, the report said.

The report also said that the media played an important part in protecting national sovereignty over seas and islands by raising its voice against fallacious arguments put forth by hostile forces.

"Hundreds of reporters and journalists have consistently accompanied our legal enforcement forces to the Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig to file accurate reports from the spot, exposing China's violations of international law.

"At the same time, they have helped international friends understand the policies of the Party and the State," Huynh said.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan said the media had actively fought corruption and other wrongdoing and provided information to relevant authoritiess.

The report also pointed out several shortcomings, including "deviation from registered principles and purposes" by some newspapers, as well as the production of unconstructive or wrongful information and scandals, affecting the prestige of the country, organisations, businesses and individuals.

Letting others know

The same day, Huynh set out major tasks for the nation's external information service sector.

Addressing a session on external information services and the dissemination of information on the nation's borders as well as its seas and islands, he asked all agencies, sectors, organisations and localities to learn from past experiences and formulate specific plans for this year.

All stakeholders need to enhance co-ordination among themselves towards improving work efficiency, he said.

He also called for stronger communication campaigns to counter untrue and slanderous information spread by hostile forces on such issues as national sovereignty, religion, democracy and human rights.

The content and forms of reporting and communication campaigns should be renewed and diversified to meet the demands of target audiences, he added.

Other participants at the conference agreed that the external information service made good progress last year in dissemination information on the situation in the country as well as the Party's perspectives and policies among other countries and overseas Vietnamese in a timely manner through many channels and in many languages.

They said this had helped create a favourable environment for maintaining political stability, promoting socio-economic development, firmly safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity and enhancing the nation's position in the region and the world.

Information supply mechanisms and co-ordination between ministries, sectors and localities should be improved, they said.

Many participants also felt that information production and dissemination in foreign languages remained modest and the content and methods of communication were yet to meet the needs of target audiences. 

VNS/VNN