Vietnam Media
In this information driven world, newspapers and the internet seem to be integral part in everyday life. With a wealth of information being barely conceivable last century, Vietnam newspapers would certainly give you the whole picture of Vietnam no matter what kind of newspaper it is. When it comes to the way newspapers are published, in Vietnam, as expected, we have printed newspapers and online ones as in any other countries. Virtually all printed newspapers have online editions but for some newspapers, they have only web based versions. Take http://vietnamnet.com.vn and http://vnexpress.net as examples of well-know online newspapers without hard copy versions. If you want to read English versions of Vietnam’s newspapers, it is advisable for you to go on the internet.
Photo: onecms.vn
In terms of content, while most newspapers provide latest information of all aspects in order to aim at a broad spectrum of readers, such as http://vietnamnews.com.vn, http://vietnamnet.vn , http://tuoitre.vn, some concentrate more on specific fields. For those taking an avid interest in financial and business news, the two websites, namely http://thesaigontimes.vn and http://vneconomy.vn , should be on their must read lists. For those attracted by politics news, http://nhandan.com.vn, which is considered as the voice of the Party, state and people of Vietnam, is one of their best choices to stay informed about what is going on with the Party ‘s operation. Searching for animated columns and colorful stories, you are supposed to have a look at http://dantri.com.vn , though the English version is not as well- updated as the Vietnamese one. And for would-be tourists coming to Vietnam, a promising journey would certainly be in your hands if you take a glance at http://vietnamonline.com, one of the most enormous and useful sources of tourism information.
Photo: baomoi.com
Regarding the Internet, according to official sources, Internet penetration in Vietnam was at 31% by the end of 2010, similar to that in China and Thailand. However, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing Internet countries. The majority of Netcitizents in Vietnam is the youth living in cities and those being in high economic classes. The internet is more often than not accessed from home (78%) or work (31%), while Internet cafes (26%) are widely favored by younger Vietnamese and in smaller cities. Vietnamese use the Internet for various purposes, ranging from gathering information, entertaining to communicating and shopping online. Much as online shopping and auction sites have not been widely used in Vietnam yet, e-commerce has witnessed the fastest growth of all measured activities over the past 3 years.
Google is the most favorite search engine while Zing is the most preferred provider of most forms of online entertainment and Yahoo is more often used for online communication activities. For foreign people living in Vietnam for a long time, a nickname in Yahoo Messenger is indispensible thing for them to get in touch with Vietnamese friends. And now either is Facebook. Turning to Internet attitude, half of Vietnamese people regard the Internet as an ideal place for them to express themselves, establish and maintain social connections as well. Besides, scarcely anybody sees the Internet in a negative light. Benefits resulting from the Internet almost are beyond their recognition, easily outweighing its drawbacks. Yet, for most of citizens, the Internet is not a trusted place to sell and buy products.
Data source: Vietnam Netcitizens report 2011 published by Cimigo.
