Voice of Ho Chi Minh City’s People
The Voice of Ho Chi Minh City (VOH) serves as the official radio broadcaster of Ho Chi Minh City. Its programming is transmitted via four distinct frequencies, ensuring coverage that extends well beyond the city’s limits, reaching as far as the Hanoi metropolitan area and other parts of the country.
Media assets
Radio: Voice of Ho Chi Minh City’s People
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
VOH operates as a joint venture between the Department of Culture and Communications under the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and the city’s Communist Party Committee. The station’s legal foundation stems from Decision No. 55, issued in 2014 by the Ministry of Information and Communications, which formally established its operational framework.
Although presented as a city-level media outlet, VOH is effectively governed by local Party structures, with strategic oversight falling under the purview of the municipal administration. Key editorial and managerial appointments are made in consultation with the Party apparatus, underscoring its role as a mouthpiece of local political leadership.
Source of funding and budget
Historically, VOH has relied heavily on state financing. In recent years, however, the broadcaster has been under growing pressure to diversify its revenue streams and gradually reduce its dependency on the public purse. This shift mirrors a broader national push toward financial self-sufficiency in the media sector—albeit within tight political constraints.
While specific financial disclosures are not publicly available, interviews conducted with Vietnamese journalists in June 2024 and March 2025 suggest that the broadcaster continues to operate within a commercial ecosystem dominated by state-controlled entities. As such, despite nominal efforts toward market-based income generation (such as advertising or sponsored content), VOH’s financial autonomy remains limited, with ultimate budgetary control resting firmly in state hands.
Editorial independence
The editorial mandate of the Voice of Ho Chi Minh City is closely tied to the communication priorities of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee. Its primary function is to relay Party directives and publicize municipal policies, ensuring that its content reinforces official narratives.
As of mid-2025, there is no statutory guarantee of editorial independence for the broadcaster. Nor does any external oversight mechanism exist to monitor or enforce journalistic standards independent of political influence. Editorial autonomy, therefore, is effectively absent, with VOH’s content strategy shaped directly by the political leadership at the city level.
August 2025