History of the Vietnamese Press in the First Half of the Twentieth Century: Nam Kỳ kinh tế báo and Economic and Literary Issues in Vietnam in the Early Twentieth Century

Abstract

This article surveys Nam Kỳ kinh tế báo (NKKTB: The Cochinchina Economic Newspaper) to determine its publication history, organisational structure, operating principles, and role in the development of the Vietnamese press in the early twentieth century. By comparing bibliographic records with surviving newspaper issues preserved on microfilm, the study corrects several inconsistencies regarding the date of the first issue, changes in editorship, and issue-numbering practices. The results show that NKKTB disseminated knowledge of agriculture, industry, and commerce while also combining news, current affairs, and literature to broaden its readership. This combination reflects the professionalization of journalism and, at the same time, reveals the relationship between the dissemination of economic knowledge and the formation of a reading market in Southern Vietnam in the early twentieth century.