Newspapers of Vietnam, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City

The Vietnamese press is made up of titles that all belong to institutions, such as Nhân Dân, Thanh Niên or Tuổi Trẻ, widely read online papers such as VnExpress and Dân Trí, and free English and French editions published by the VNA agency.

From Gia Định báo to the newspapers of reunification

Gia Định báo, launched in Saigon in 1865, was one of the first newspapers printed in quốc ngữ, the Latin alphabet used for Vietnamese. The daily Nhân Dân was born in 1951 during the independence struggle, and the press was unified after 1975.

Nhân Dân, Tuổi Trẻ, Thanh Niên: who publishes what?

Every title answers to a parent body: Nhân Dân to the Communist Party, Quân Đội Nhân Dân to the army, Lao Động to the union confederation. Tuổi Trẻ and Thanh Niên, popular in Ho Chi Minh City, belong to youth organisations and cover society widely.

Reading in Vietnamese, English or French

Vietnamese dominates, with its many diacritical marks that machine translators now handle well. Viet Nam News and VnExpress International publish in English. VietnamPlus and Le Courrier du Vietnam, linked to the VNA agency, have offered French content, a legacy of the country's francophone past.

Provincial and big-city newspapers

Each province publishes its own paper, often named after it, such as Hà Nội Mới for the capital. Sài Gòn Giải Phóng remains the official daily of Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang, Hue and Can Tho also have local titles.

VnExpress, Dân Trí and the Zalo habit

VnExpress, launched in 2001 by the FPT group, has become the most visited news site in the country. Dân Trí and VietNamNet also rank among the major online papers. Vietnamese readers share many articles on Zalo, the national messaging app, and on Facebook.

What does the Vietnam News Agency put out?

The Vietnam News Agency, or VNA, founded in 1945, is the official source of wire stories. It publishes VietnamPlus, Viet Nam News and the sports paper Thể Thao Văn Hóa, and carries announcements from the government, the Party and the National Assembly.

VTV and the Voice of Vietnam, two public pillars

Vietnam Television, VTV, runs several national channels, including VTV4, aimed at audiences abroad. The Voice of Vietnam, VOV, is the national radio and still keeps a French-language service. Both broadcasters stream their programmes live on the internet.

Vietnam as seen by its diaspora

The Vietnamese community in the United States, strongly present in the Little Saigon district of California, has its own press, such as the daily Người Việt founded in 1978. These diaspora outlets often take a critical view of the authorities in Hanoi.

Stock market, investment and football

The Saigon Times and VnEconomy follow the Ho Chi Minh City stock exchange, foreign investment and the electronics industry. In sport, football is a national passion: the national team and the V.League fill the sports sections of VnExpress, Thanh Niên and specialist titles.

A strict legal framework for newsrooms

There is no independent private press in the strict sense: the 2016 press law places every outlet under a supervising body. Critical bloggers risk prosecution, and newsrooms handle certain political subjects with caution.

Free access, French content and verification

Almost all Vietnamese sites are free and funded by advertising. French-speaking readers can also find material through the Asian press online; to cross-check, compare the official version with the Vietnamese services of international media such as the BBC.

The East Sea and regional neighbours

Tensions in the East Sea, known elsewhere as the South China Sea, occupy the Hanoi press. Reading the official Chinese press and Philippine newspapers from Manila lets you compare accounts of maritime incidents in the Paracel and Spratly Islands.

Following Vietnamese news from abroad

1. Start with VnExpress International or Viet Nam News for an overview in English, with no language barrier.
2. Add a Vietnamese-language title, Tuổi Trẻ or Thanh Niên, with a machine translator for social affairs.
3. Check VietnamPlus for official VNA releases, especially decisions by the government and the Party.
4. Listen to the French service of the Voice of Vietnam for a daily summary of national news.
5. Set national coverage against the Vietnamese services of foreign media and the diaspora press.
6. Check the date of articles shared on Zalo or Facebook, which are often recycled during typhoons or health crises.

Access and subscriptions for the Vietnamese press

Useful pointers on Vietnamese media

• Languages: Vietnamese, English for Viet Nam News and VnExpress International, French at VOV
• News agency: Vietnam News Agency (VNA, Thông tấn xã Việt Nam)
• Public broadcasters: Vietnam Television (VTV) and Voice of Vietnam (VOV)
• Party organ: Nhân Dân; most-read site: VnExpress; business: The Saigon Times
• Time zone: Indochina Time, UTC+7
• Currency: Vietnamese dong (VND)

Common mistakes when reading the Vietnamese press

• Assuming a major Vietnamese daily is independent, when every title answers to a Party body, a state body or a mass organisation.
• Trusting a fake site that copies the VnExpress or Tuổi Trẻ logo to push promotions or financial scams.
• Reading a machine-translated Vietnamese article without checking proper names, which can become unrecognisable once diacritics are lost.
• Passing on a rumour circulating on Zalo without checking it against VNA wire stories and recognised news sites.
• Forgetting that some diaspora sites are blocked inside Vietnam and, conversely, that some video streams are limited to the country.

Your questions about Vietnamese newspapers