Yet this mandate seems to apply only to low-ranking officials, many reporters complain. Reports of scandals published by the press are usually vetted by and handed down from the government, another reporter says. Last October, Nguyen Hoang Linh, editor of Doanh Nghiep, was arrested after his newspaper detailed an alleged Customs Department scam involving high- ranking officials. But such instances are rare. Mr. Linh was the first editor in years to be arrested for revealing state secrets.
Most senior editors are party members who practice self-censorship.
Many Vietnamese journalists are frustrated by this system of self-censorship. There's no drive to get the story. You go out and interview seven people, but then your story is printed with only one quote. Many Vietnamese reporters and editors, however, say that press freedoms may be widened this year. They are pinning their hopes on new Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, who was named to the post in September.