Media Assessment of Herbalife's Crisis Response: An Approach to Explain Vietnam's Media Transparency Level

Abstract

Vietnam's media credibility is not highly appreciated both nationally and internationally. Domestically, public trust in the media is deteriorating. Internationally, Vietnam ranked among the bottom countries worldwide on media transparency level. There is thus a strong need to better assess the current media transparency in Vietnam and regain reputation for the Vietnam media. Guided by the research question: What is the difference in transparency between leading and following media in Vietnam during Herbalife's crisis?, the paper argues that Vietnamese media uphold the transparent practice, but different publications have different standards of transparency. This study found that during the Herbalife Vietnam's (HVN's) crisis, coverage from following media are less objective than those from leading media. It can also be inferred from the study that the media transparency level in following media is lower than that in leading media. The result indicates that Vietnam's leading media are maintaining their standards of media practice and transparency, distinguishing themselves from the following cluster. As from 2003 to the present, no studies were done on media transparency in Vietnam. An updated study is needed to better assess the current transparency level.

Keywords: media transparency, objectivity, media credibility, media ethics, Vietnam, Herbalife, case study

JEL Classification: Z00