Hanoi (VNA) – Standing as a testament to its dedicated service to the nation over the past eight decades, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) is the only press organisation receiving the nation’s noble honour three times, the “Labour Hero in Renewal Period” title in 2001, and the “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” in 2005 and 2020.

Three times a hero

The agency’s heroic status was first recognised on June 14, 2001 when President Tran Duc Luong signed a decision conferring the title to the Viet Nam Thong Tan Xa (VNTTX), now the VNA, for its role in promoting renewal policies and supporting the country’s industrialisation and modernisation efforts during 1989-1999.

Right from early 1980s, the VNA boldly transformed its content and information formats, persistently identify and promote role models, while criticising social negatives. The agency’s foreign service news promptly reflected the Party and State’s activities of multilateralisation and diversification, introduced Vietnam’s land and people to the world. The VNA also built a national film archive with over 1 million precious film reels documenting the revolutionary struggle and President Ho Chi Minh's legacy. By 2001, the agency had developed from 12 initial bulletins to 35 publications featuring various formats like reference news, popular news, newspapers for domestic and foreign service published daily, weekly, and monthly, thematic documents, and an e-newspaper in five languages of English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Vietnamese. The establishment of the Audio-Visual Centre in 1999 marked a new milestone in the agency’s multimedia information production.

The “Hero of the People's Armed Forces” title came on March 17, 2005, when President Tran Duc Luong signed a decision recognising the VNTTX (now VNA) for its exceptional achievements during the resistance war against the US.

During the period, the VNTTX deployed over 450 key personnel to support the southern battlefield, not counting hundreds of correspondents, editors, and technical staff from the north who accompanied advancing units and participated in campaigns across southern Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. News reports and photographs transmitted from battlefields to the rear helped inspire the nationwide resistance movement. Nearly 260 reporters, editors, and technicians laid down their lives, accounting for more than a quarter of the VNA’s workforce and four-fifths of all journalists nationwide who perished during the war.

The third honour came on September 1, 2020, when President Nguyen Phu Trong awarded the Hero of the People’s Armed Forces title to the Liberation Press Agency (LPA), the official press agency of the National Liberation Front. Established in 1960, the LPA operated for 15 years under bombs and bullets, maintaining the information "lifeline" across most battlefields and reflecting the revolutionary movement's strength while exposing enemy conspiracies.

During the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, the LPA correspondents alongside the VNTTX reporters stayed close to key units, providing timely coverage of battles and the liberation army's lightning advances. They captured immortal moments, including the famous photograph "Xe tang chiem Dinh Doc lap” (The tank captures the Independence Palace” by Tran Mai Huong and “Me con ngay gap mat” (The mother and child’s reunion day) by Lam Hong Long.

Beyond battlefield coverage, the LPA served as the main force ensuring information for Vietnamese delegations at the Paris Conference, rallying international support for the resistance. Together with military might, the LPA’s accurate and timely information became a sharp weapon contributing to the Great Spring 1975 Victory.

In 1976, the LPA and the VNTTX officially merged to form the VNA.

Eight decades of heroic chronicles

Looking back on the agency’s 80-year journey, the VNA emerges as a symbol of revolutionary journalism, where heroic traditions, steadfast mettle, and endless renewal aspirations converge. Since its establishment on September 15, 1945, under President Ho Chi Minh's direct guidance, the VNA has affirmed its role as the national news agency, bearing the responsibility of providing mainstream news, shaping public opinion, and serving Party and State leadership. In the Vietnamese journalism history, few organisations are as closely linked to the nation's destiny as the VNA. Each step of the agency's growth marks an important milestone in the country's development and defence journey.

According to former VNA General Director Ho Tien Nghi, from its inception, the VNA was assigned two crucial missions. The first was to provide mainstream information to the entire national press and media system, with most publicly published news during that period distributed by the VNA. The second was to provide reference information for senior leadership, from President Ho Chi Minh and the Politburo to Party, State, and military agencies. The VNA’s ability to grasp strategic information stemmed from its network of resident correspondents across the nation and globally as well as cooperation with international news agencies.

He affirmed that the VNA’s history represents a heroic epic, marking the pioneering role and strategic position of the Party and State's strategic information agency. During the resistance war against the US, to supplement forces to the South, many intensive training courses were organised. Those wartime correspondents not only faced brutal bombing but also battled disease, malaria, and shortage of technical equipment and working conditions. Many correspondents quietly departed for battlefields, hiding their missions from families and accepting separation from wives and young children to complete duties entrusted by the agency.

Over time, the VNA grew into what Nghi called a “great school,” where generations of journalists honed not only professional skills but also political, economic, military, diplomatic and security knowledge to meet the demands of strategic reporting.

Transformation in digital era

The agency entered a new era of transformation between 2008 and 2021, embracing the global digital revolution and the rise of social media. Former General Director Nguyen Duc Loi described it as both a challenge and an opportunity, underscoring the need for drastic, bold, and comprehensive transformation to maintain the role as the Party and State’s strategic information centre while meeting expectations of the public.

That determination led to bold initiatives. In 2008, the VNA launched its online newspaper VietnamPlus, a pioneer in digital journalism. Two years later, the VNA Television Centre’s channel went on air, signaling the agency’s evolution into a multimedia organisation. In 2014, it rolled out a suite of new products, from integrated audiovisual news to a revamped external information project to promote mainstream news globally. In 2017, its multimedia production system was operated, linking management, editing and publishing across the agency. With these investments, the VNA became one of Vietnam’s most technologically advanced media institutions.

These advances represented a comprehensive transformation beyond mere equipment upgrades, requiring unified change across mindset, procedures, and personnel from leadership to each reporter and editor. According to Loi, the most important thing is to maintain the “root” of a state-owned news agency – keeping authoritative and politically guided content and staying agile in technology and trend.

The agency also reinforced its international presence, with 30 overseas bureaus and partnerships with about 40 international press organisations. Its comprehensive coverage of the 2019 DPRK–US Summit in Hanoi, which produced nearly 4,000 stories in multiple languages within days, underscored its global standing.

Besides, the VNA's identity lies in what Loi called it a "warm home" where generations of journalists mentor each other. This tradition has equipped today's reporters with both technical expertise and political steadfastness, helping shape up authoritative information flows amidst “internet storm”.

♎ Over the past eight decades, the VNA has not only witnessed but also contributed to the country’s history. From a humble beginning to its present stature as a leading multimedia news agency, it has stood proud of its noble traditions while embracing the digital age, worthy of the title “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces”./.