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The Mass Media in Vietnam. Edited by DAVID G. MARK. Political and Social Change Monograph 25. Canberra: Department of Political and Social Change, The Australian National University, 1998. 166 pp.
There is a paucity of research on Vietnamese mass communication, no doubt about it. But reading The Mass Media in Vietnam misleads the reader into thinking that until now, the subject has been completely ignored by the trade and academic press. Not even vaguely familiar with the literature generated by mass communication and journalism scholars, Marr and his contributors omit important information, make uncalled-for errors of fact, and sometimes base theoretical arguments on work created in the West at the height of the Cold War schism.
Most of the articles originated as conference papers, which might explain their unevenness in style and conflicting factual information, but Marr as editor is responsible for ironing out these wrinkles.
To better understand the recent "dramatic changes" of Vietnamese mass media, listed as a major purpose of the conference and book, Marr and his contributors should know what the media are changing from, in other words, their history....