“Your Audience, Evolved: Is Your Newsroom Keeping Up?”

THE HANOI TIMES — Audiences have been evolving faster than newsrooms in recent years, with a shift towards mobile-first platforms, short-form videos, and AI-powered content. This has transformed how information is consumed, and news organizations must adapt to keep up.

While social media, messaging apps, and algorithm-fed feeds offer dynamic and personalized experiences, many media companies continue to operate with outdated workflows and rigid editorial hierarchies. This disconnect between audience expectations and traditional journalism practices is particularly prominent in Vietnam.

The question is no longer whether Vietnamese journalism needs to transform, but rather, what will be the consequences if it doesn’t? Who will fill the void left by traditional media?

It’s important to recognize that young people are not turning away from news; they are simply getting their information from social media, YouTube, and online personalities because traditional journalism has failed to keep up with their consumption habits. Audiences now expect news to find them, and it must be fast and tailored to their interests. If a headline doesn’t grab their attention within seconds or a story lacks visual and emotional appeal, they will simply scroll past.

“I still read traditional news from time to time,” shared Thao Chi, a 22-year-old university student in Hanoi. “But I’m more drawn to TikTok and YouTube for current events because of the short, engaging content and diverse reactions. It feels less one-sided.”

Content creators have mastered the art of connecting with their audience, evoking emotion, and delivering real-time content. They view their audience as their target demographic rather than passive recipients. In contrast, many newsrooms still rely on a one-way publishing model, often failing to measure engagement, analyze audience response, or adapt content based on feedback.

This is not merely a content issue but a systemic problem rooted in structure, mindset, and management. Duong Lo, a 29-year-old content creator with over 260,000 followers on TikTok, specializes in business and finance. “I didn’t study journalism,” he said, “but I know how to make my audience watch. Algorithms favor content that keeps people engaged. Consistency is key; my audience needs to see me every day, or I’ll become irrelevant.”

This new era of content creation values speed, personalization, and algorithm optimization. It prioritizes engagement and consistency over traditional journalistic credentials and editorial structures. While creators like Duong Lo may not adhere to journalistic codes, they are reshaping how the public, especially younger generations, consumes information.

Unfortunately, many newsrooms have been slow to adapt to these changes. Junior journalists who want to experiment with short-form videos, explainer formats, or platform-specific storytelling often face resistance from senior editors who favor long-form articles and traditional workflows. This resistance is not just a generational gap but a reflection of deeper tensions within the industry regarding identity and power dynamics.

Veteran editors strive to uphold professional values while also facing the very real challenge of keeping up with new tools, audiences, and the rapid pace of change. Digital transformation is not just about launching websites or creating social media accounts; it requires deep organizational reform. Newsrooms must reform how they collaborate, plan, design, and deliver stories. It also demands new roles, metrics for success, and a willingness to let go of outdated assumptions about journalism’s “ideal” practices.

Le Quoc Minh, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper and a prominent figure in Vietnamese journalism, recognizes this: “AI is an irreversible trend and an opportunity for newsrooms to enhance their practices.” His message underscores the need for automation and capacity building to meet the demands of a fragmented, fast-paced, and digitally savvy audience.

Some Vietnamese newsrooms have started using AI tools to streamline content production and cut costs. While these technologies improve efficiency, they are not a panacea. Automation without skilled journalists, reliable audience insights, and a clear editorial vision can become a shortcut to irrelevance, reinforcing outdated methods rather than driving meaningful change.

One significant challenge for Vietnamese newsrooms is the persistent digital skills gap. Only a small proportion of journalists currently use audience analytics in their daily reporting, according to the Institute for Policy Studies and Media Development. This is a structural issue that hinders the integration of digital strategies into newsroom practices, resulting in limited collaboration between editors, reporters, and audience development teams. Such fragmentation undermines both coherence and competitiveness in today’s fast-paced media landscape.

Even a well-written and timely story can fail to reach its audience if it is poorly distributed or visually unappealing. Meanwhile, platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Facebook Reels constantly refine their algorithms to capture users’ attention. These are competitors, dictating who sees what and when. To stay relevant, newsrooms must understand their place in this evolving ecosystem and leverage their unique strengths.

Journalism cannot compete with these platforms on speed or reach, but it has a distinct advantage in credibility, depth, and public accountability. Reform must focus on strengthening editorial identities, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and developing content strategies that prioritize accuracy and impact. Above all, journalism must invest in what technology cannot replicate: investigation, empathy, and insight.

Instead of trying to be faster or louder than everything else online, journalism should strive to be more meaningful. While a piece of content may go viral in minutes, a story that changes someone’s perspective or understanding will have a lasting impact. The risk is not that journalism will be replaced by platforms or influencers, but that it will become irrelevant through inaction. In an era of algorithmic content and creator-driven news, professional journalism must demonstrate its trustworthiness and value to readers.

If journalism fails to evolve, it will gradually lose its audience. However, if it embraces change with conviction, Vietnamese journalism can once again become a trusted source of facts and insight, reclaiming its vital role in society.

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