At the start of the workshop, invited delegates and press agencies experienced a space showcasing the application of artificial intelligence in smart newsroom management.

Delegates at the event. 

The workshop "Application of Artificial Intelligence in Smart Newsroom Management" focused on key topics such as: enhancing the relationship between high-quality vocational training institutions and press agencies in the age of artificial intelligence; applying AI in media operations; solutions for strengthening information security in the press sector during digital transformation; journalism ethics in the technology era—issues of fake news and privacy; digital transformation and building a smart newsroom at the Economic and Urban Newspaper.

Speaking at the workshop, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thanh Loi, Editor-in-Chief of the Economic and Urban Newspaper, affirmed that digital transformation in journalism has become an inevitable trend across all media agencies. In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and today's competitive information environment, having good content is no longer enough—it's essential to create new experiences for readers through digital technology applications.

Introducing new technologies to delegates.

Digital transformation in journalism is the integration of data and digital technology into all areas of activity in a press agency. Therefore, the use of digital technology to transform models of management, operations, production, publishing, content distribution, and business... in order to generate new products, opportunities, revenue, and values is the goal that media agencies must always aim for.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thanh Loi, press agencies in Vietnam in general and the Economic and Urban Newspaper in particular are currently facing many challenges during their development process, such as: the risk of large-scale cyberattacks; influence from social networks and even being affected by unverified and fake news; an increasing trend of information personalization... In addition, the strong development of multimedia journalism and forms of social media such as electronic news sites and social networks (Facebook, Zalo, Twitter, YouTube...) has created fierce competition for journalistic activities.

The growing trend of forming multimedia media agencies also presents challenges that require digital transformation at press agencies, shifting from a focus on print to a focus on electronic newspapers. Particularly, the requirement from readers for timely and accurate information. Therefore, journalism must innovate its technology and organizational structure to keep up with trends and meet increasingly high political task demands. To keep pace with the trend of journalistic operations in the digital age, the Economic and Urban Newspaper has proactively concretized its Digital Transformation Strategy for journalism to 2025, with an orientation toward 2030, aligning with the press digital transformation index and city-level digital transformation directives. Currently, the newspaper has completed and successfully operated a converged newsroom and expanded interaction channels with readers.

On October 25, 2023, the Economic and Urban Newspaper launched a digital video creation platform integrating artificial intelligence on YouTube, contributing to expanding interaction channels and providing readers with reliable and timely information through multimedia journalism products. This is considered a new step in applying artificial intelligence and digital transformation in journalism, generating digital advertising revenue and enhancing the brand value of the Economic and Urban Newspaper in the near future.

Introducing the Economic and Urban Newspaper's ecosystem, Editor-in-Chief Nguyen Thanh Loi stated that the newspaper is operating two print newspapers, one electronic newspaper, and six affiliated special pages. Therefore, changing the method of working, content production, and technical management systems to enable the Editorial Board and professional departments to promptly grasp direction and perform regular operations in a timely manner is essential. After officially changing the interface and newsroom operating system, the Economic and Urban Newspaper is capable of producing and publishing news and articles for both print and electronic formats on a single CMS. At the same time, it can produce multimedia journalistic formats such as infographics, emagazines, longform articles, podcasts, and apply AI in news operations.

Speaking at the workshop, Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association Nguyen Duc Loi highly appreciated the Economic and Urban Newspaper for organizing the event. This is an important forum to promote the process of digital transformation in journalism and communication, especially in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is bringing profound changes in all aspects of social life.

According to Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association Nguyen Duc Loi, the newsroom is no longer a fixed physical space but becomes a flexible digital platform where all steps in the news-making process—from data collection, processing, production to content distribution—are digitized, automated, and optimized thanks to modern technologies such as AI, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Blockchain, and IoT. AI does not replace humans but supports journalists to work faster, more accurately, more deeply, and closer to readers.

The city of Hanoi encourages press agencies to boldly pilot new technologies in professional activities, including AI. At the same time, it is necessary to continue training high-quality journalism human resources and equip journalists and editors with digital skills and technology usage competencies. The city is ready to create a favorable legal corridor to promote digital transformation in journalism associated with copyright protection, information security, and the development of journalism economics in the digital environment.

"In addition to applying technology, we also need to pay attention to professional ethics in the digital age. Technology is a tool, but humans are the ones who decide how to operate, control, and orient AI to serve social and community interests," emphasized Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association Nguyen Duc Loi.

The leadership of the Vietnam Journalists Association also affirmed that Hanoi city always supports and creates the most favorable conditions for press agencies to effectively carry out digital transformation, apply artificial intelligence, and build a modern, professional, and humanistic digital press ecosystem.

The workshop also included presentations and discussions by delegates and experts on the topic of applying artificial intelligence in smart newsroom management.