Grant Amount: US$ 19,269

Keywords: MEDIA, INTERNET, ACCESS, CAPACITY BUILDING, CAMBODIA, LAO PDR, VIET NAM

Geographic coverage: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Viet Nam

Objective

The objective of this project is to survey the extent to which information and communications Technology (ICT) tools have been integrated into the media industry.

Research context

While the Internet is widely used in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam, the systematic integration of ICTs into the news industry is not evident. This limits the industry’s accessibility to global information resources, connectivity among journalists and its contribution to participatory politics through dissemination of public interest news. This project responds to the lack of research on ICTs in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam media by surveying how ICTs are currently integrated into the industry. It aims to identify the strategic application of ICTs for reporting public interest issues in a state-controlled media environment. Based on its assessment, the project will produce a range of reports and learning tools to increase integration of ICTs into the local media industry.

Target beneficiaries

The immediate beneficiaries are journalists and media educators in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam. At the regional level, aid agencies, government organization and "think tanks" focused on the development of ICTs in the region can benefit from the analysis and reports. At the global level, the academic community and media-research funding organizations benefit from a better understanding of how ICTs are being applied to journalism in a region that is relatively undocumented.

Outputs

• An assessment of ICT application needs by journalists in Viet Nam, Lao PDR and Cambodia; 
• A profile of the journalists’ strengths, limitations and opportunities for ICT applications; 
• An industry report on existing ICT support systems for journalists;
• A regional training and education model for ICT-assisted journalism; 
• A learning resource manual; and 
• A 45-minute digital video recording of interviews with journalists and government representatives.

Research results and outcomes

To date, this research project has gathered relevant empirical data on ICT issues and training needs for newspaper journalists in Ha Noi, Phnom Penh and Vientiane. The project has found that contrary to general assumptions, the Internet has not brought about a significant transformation in the way that journalism is practiced or produced. This is due to software limitations, high cost of Internet connections and inadequate infrastructure support within the media organizations. Political factors were not perceived to be critical impediments in the wider use of Internet by journalists.

The project research methodology combines primary literature reviews, policy studies, empirical surveys, personal interviews with newspaper editors and government officials and an ICT needs and inventory study based on a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was piloted with 65 journalists in Ha Noi in December 2005. Based on the results of the pilot the questionnaire was refined.

With the background research complete, the researchers traveled to Ha Noi, Phnom Penh and Vientiane to meet with the country researchers and provide on-site training in questionnaire administration, data coding, and how to conduct the interviews. Country researchers arranged interviews with journalists, editors and relevant government representatives. All interviews were recorded by a digital video camera. The project devoted significant time to observing operations in the local newsrooms and examining journalist’s access to Internet connectivity and the availability of computers and telecommunications services. Cultural issues such as the use of different Asian languages on the Internet were also examined, along with the problems of displaying languages that do not use the Roman alphabet on the Internet.

The strength in this project lies in the corroboration of data from the questionnaire survey with the on-camera interviews with editors and policy makers. The utilitarian focus of the project takes the discussion of Internet usage in the newsroom beyond academic inquiry. The project’s weakness, perhaps, may lie in the fact that the questionnaires were translated to Vietnamese, Lao and Khmer by the country researchers. Every effort however was made to ensure that the translations were correct by vetting the translated questionnaire by a second reader. The inventory check of infrastructure support in the media organizations was less than satisfactory as the respondents had difficulties in providing accurate figures of, for instance, how many office computers were connected to the Internet.

The project focuses on pragmatic issues such as the journalist’s access to technological infrastructure support facilities, economics and work routines. Results point to varied levels of language, economic, hardware and software constraints that the journalists face in their use of Internet in the newsroom. The empirical data obtained from the survey is anticipated to be use to foreign agencies that plan to deploy media training programmes in the target areas. The project report will provide a basis for formulating policies to facilitate full integration of Internet technology into the daily operations of news organizations. The results are anticipated to be used in the development of a continuing education programme focusing on ICT-assisted reporting techniques for local journalists. The project anticipates that this training and education model will be their research’s primary contribution to journalism in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam.

Project Duration

Start Date: August 2005
End Date: December 2006
Total Duration: 17 Months

Contact information

Dr. Dinh Thi Thuy Hang
Institute of Journalism and Communication
Ho Chi Minh National Political Academy
Ha Noi, Viet Nam
Email: hdinhthi@hotmail.com, hdinhthi@isp.net.au