ABSTRACT
In the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese state-run media and social media have a reciprocal relationship in informing the public. The study shows that social and mainstream media met and coordinated in informing the public about COVID-19, and they attract attention from the public. Drawing on examples of the interplay between the mainstream media and social media, questions of the role of the media in setting the agenda and facilitating public discussions about COVID-19 are considered. These questions also imply that in the time of the reduction in mainstream media audiences and the spread of social networks, media consumers need information that is relevant and useful to their well-being.
