Vietnamese travel media and news sites

In Vietnam a newspaper, magazine or news site operates as a press agency under a licence, and the licence details are printed on the site. Tuoi Tre Online, for example, shows its licence for a Vietnamese- and English-language e-newspaper, number 561/GP-BTTTT of 25 November 2022, in its footer. Bao Tai chinh - Dau tu, published under the Ministry of Finance, shows licence 1/GP-BC of 8 January 2026, issued by the Press Department.

The licence line tells you three useful things before you pitch: whether the outlet is a press agency or another kind of site, which body it belongs to, and whether it is licensed to publish in English as well as Vietnamese. Personal blogs, fan pages and many travel content sites are not press agencies, even when they look like news.

On 10 December 2025 the National Assembly passed an amended Press Law of four chapters and 51 articles. According to a summary published by Lawyers of Vietnam (lsvn.vn), it separates newspapers from magazines. It recognises a press agency's channels on social networks as a type of press product, with the head of the agency responsible for what they publish. Article 39 deals with the use of artificial intelligence in journalism. A training requirement for first press cards applies from 1 January 2027, and press cards are valid for five years.

For a brand the practical consequence is that a news outlet's TikTok or Facebook channel is now part of the outlet, under the same editorial responsibility. Content placed there is not a casual social post. The law number and the general effective date were not stated in the summary we read; check them before citing the law in a contract.

The amended Law on Advertising requires online advertising to carry clear identifying marks, in words, numbers, symbols, images or sound, that separate it from other content. Officials speaking in November 2025 said reviews are now treated as advertising rather than simple experience-sharing. A paid article on a news site, a sponsored video on its channel and a creator's post are all, in the law's terms, advertising when they are paid for.

• Ask the outlet how a paid piece will be labelled, in Vietnamese, and see an example before you pay.
• Do not ask for paid content to look like an independent report. It exposes the outlet, the agency and you.
• Keep famtrips and editorial invitations separate from paid placements in your records, so that it is clear which coverage was earned and which was bought.
• Under the law, foreign advertisers without a Vietnamese entity place advertising through a Vietnamese advertising service provider; see the advertising law page.

1. Which outlets on your list are licensed press agencies, and which are other kinds of sites or channels?
2. For each paid item, how will it be labelled, and who approves the label?
3. Who at the outlet decides on editorial coverage, and how will you keep that separate from paid items?
4. What will you report afterwards: published links, reach figures from the outlet, or both?
5. Who holds the rights to photographs and video produced for the campaign, and for how long?

The briefing page turns these into a written brief and contract checklist.