Print newspaper in the digital age

Print newspapers must change and upgrade both content and presentation. Not only that, print newspapers must also apply digital technology to reach a wider audience.

Why did the May 7 issue of Nhan Dan newspaper "sell out"?

In May 2024, an event occurred in the Vietnamese press, full of surprise, when the special issue released on May 7 of Nhan Dan Newspaper was "sold out" since morning. What was special was that many young people who may have never read Nhan Dan Newspaper were eager to "hunt" for this issue. Why did this unusual phenomenon occur?

The reason is simple, that is, Nhan Dan Newspaper integrates augmented reality (AR) technology into the printed newspaper, with the panorama supplement “Dien Bien Phu Campaign”. Readers can cut and combine 4 printed newspaper pages into a 3.21 m long panorama and interact with the picture through AR technology or scanning QR codes. This technology allows users to view a dynamic panorama in physical space.

Not everyone has the opportunity to visit the Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum to see with their own eyes the panoramic picture that recreates the campaign in a realistic, vivid, and majestic way. Therefore, the printed newspaper issue with the application of technology to help readers see with their own eyes the precious panoramic picture, recreating the campaign that "resounded throughout the five continents, shook the earth" has "sold out", forcing Nhan Dan Newspaper to find a way to attract social resources to print 100,000 copies of the supplement to give away for free to readers nationwide.

This is a rare bright spot for Vietnamese print media, a truly special event that has attracted the attention of the press and the public. But we still have to face reality, and we still have to repeat that since the emergence of new media, especially social media, typically Facebook, YouTube, TikTok..., traditional press has been significantly impacted. Many print newspapers, including traditional, famous newspapers in the world, have had to stop their print versions. For example, one of the UK's leading prestigious newspapers, The Independent, stopped publishing its print version on March 26, 2016; Austria's Wiener Zeitung - the world's oldest national print newspaper - published its last print edition on June 30, 2023, after 320 years of operation...

For print newspapers that are operating, the number of circulations has decreased dramatically and will certainly not stop, including world-famous newspapers such as: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times... In that context, the press is forced to find a way to adapt, survive, and affirm its role and position.

congestionnew technology application

I suddenly remembered a story when I talked with Professor Antoine Char (University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada) in July 2019. The professor with a lot of experience in researching and teaching journalism and communication said that the journalism crisis in Canada in particular, and in the world in general, all originated from the internet...

However, he believes that if he proposes a solution, many people will think it is not serious, because the world press is at a crossroads. But according to him, "one thing is certain, 100 years from now, print newspapers will still exist and the next generation will still talk about the current press crisis...". He also believes that the Canadian press is facing a deep crisis, with less than 50% of the population trusting the press. There are many reasons, but the most prominent is that the press focuses too much on sensational, shocking, scandalous news and less on the core issues of the country and society. Professor Antoine Char also believes that the press has not yet explored the depth, the core, and the nature of most events and issues.

Also during this business trip, in a working session, Professor Colin MacKenzie (University of Toronto, Canada) affirmed that the world press is facing many challenges, the biggest of which is how to convince readers to spend money to buy their products. One way is to make specialized newspapers on a certain topic or field. For some newspapers in other countries, typically the US, focusing on investing in and pursuing the purpose of providing in-depth, specialized, and specialized information in a meticulous, unique, multi-faceted, multi-dimensional, and argumentative, explanatory, and demonstrative manner has brought initial successes.

In Vietnam, this situation has also been happening for a long time. My doctoral thesis in journalism was also about the trend of developing specialized information in Vietnamese print newspapers. And since August 2016, when I successfully defended my thesis at the academy level, this trend in Vietnamese press has become more and more evident, both in the central and local press. Many press agencies have focused on specialized, in-depth information with multi-dimensional perspectives, thorough analysis and explanation to help readers understand the topic, so that they can easily trust and follow. That is also the way the mainstream press contributes to affirming its role and position on the extremely diverse and complex information front today.

Not only in terms of content, printed newspapers have also made strong and drastic improvements in presentation, with changes in the form of each press work, as well as the entire issue, especially on the front page. Printed newspapers not only provide readers with written information, simple static images, with little refinement, but have used more graphic information (infographics), paying attention to the element of many "windows" for each article with headlines, main headlines, subheadings, introductions, information data boxes, images that are invested in; opening QR code scanning windows... This change is like "panning for gold" to provide readers with the most important, most visible, most attractive content in the fastest way just by viewing and reading a few prominent "windows" in the work, as well as the entire publication.

With the achievements of the scientific and technological revolution, with the digital transformation increasingly penetrating and penetrating deeper into people's lives, it is natural that printed newspapers will change. Of course, it is not always possible to apply digital technology as in the recent case with Nhan Dan Newspaper. Not every press agency can have press products that help readers interact when using smartphones to scan QR codes on pictures or download applications to view moving images using AR technology. But clearly, this is one of the trends of integrating technology in printed newspapers to attract the public. Change to adapt is certain to happen. And that is also the way for us to adapt to the digital transformation of journalism that is taking place extremely strongly and quickly.

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The panorama painting “Dien Bien Phu Campaign” is painted with oil paint, on canvas, in a 360-degree space, 132 m long, 20.5 m high, 42 m in diameter with a total area of ​​3,225 m², vividly recreating more than 4,500 characters, the majestic Northwest mountain scenery combined with the art of installation, displaying artifacts, creating a space that is both real and virtual, making a strong impression on the viewer's vision. The painting consists of 4 segments: “The whole people go to battle”, “The majestic prelude”, “The historic confrontation” and “The triumphant song of victory”.