During my over 12 years serving Nhan Dan Newspaper, I always tell myself about conscientiousness and dedication at work. With the dreams and aspirations of youth, I nurture a passion and motivation for the job.
As a reporter of the Party newspaper, permanently residing in the central region, the length of my career so far is not considerable when compared with other seniors at Nhan Dan, but for young reporters, that time span is considerable, along with the valuable experience not many choosing to be a writer or a reporter are lucky to have, serving the Party newspaper as I am.
The first criterion that I always have to master is the perception of practical life from many perspectives, while listening to and applying reliable sources. From which, I have to distil the "pure" and right ideas. It is very difficult to do this, especially when facing a writing task with many topics that sometimes, if you are not careful in your operation or do not pay attention to the way of transmission, may fall into a "lumpy, heavy, wordy” report that can be "dumped" at any time. I always ask myself such questions: What is the most important thing for a Party newspaper’s permanent correspondent when implementing topics published in Nhan Dan Newspaper's publications? Can the writer "flourish" with their words on various news, articles, reports and investigations published in the Party newspaper? Where is the "knot" between youth and career age? 12 years of work, many difficulties, challenges and a lot of pressure has forced me to overcome many challenges and mature greatly.
One of the Nhan Dan publications I have had the privilege of collaborating with is Nhan Dan Weekend. This is considered a publication with a lot of articles, specialising in topics that resident reporters like me can collaborate on, covering local perspectives with regional characteristics.
The most difficult thing in the job is how to show and inject the "heat" of social life into the newspaper articles. I think that in order to do this, in addition to mastering the situation in localities and keeping close relationships with local Party committees at all levels, reporters must always use Party Resolutions as the core criterion, carefully reading, pondering and learning the core content of the Resolutions, before "splitting" them apart to find their topics and thereafter bring them into reality. From my personal perspective, I think accessing topics in the text is only a very small part, just the "backbone" of the article. In order to make an article lively and attractive to readers, it is necessary to prepare rich and "unique" material. Affirming your writing style in the Party newspaper is a way to transform practical materials by constantly penetrating into reality, going to the grassroots, and being close to local establishments. From which, reporters must connect, analyse and identify the situation, thus both contributing to orienting public opinion through press work, while ensuring the verification of information in the Party newspaper.
My working memories are quite substantial, associated with the subjects such as climate change, natural disasters, flooding, storms and diseases, but the most difficult task has been to fulfil unexpected topics assigned by the Editorial Board and the agency's leaders in the shortest time possible. Handling hot and unexpected topics in a short time requires the writer have a quick, aggressive mindset and know how to be both dedicated and act experienced. The sophistication of the writer is shown in the small details of the articles, while the practicality lies in the living things and phenomena that are contained in the pages.
I think, in order to have good press work that bears the breadth of life published in the Party newspaper, reporters must be really devoted to the topic and also be prepared to be a silent sacrifice, considering the responsibilities of a writer and of a reporter at the Party newspaper as an unchanging principle in every press work, while using passion as the driving force to overcome the pressures of a "dangerous" profession that requires them to operate independently in areas far from the office, bearing full responsibility for their own articles. They have to know how to exploit and discover themselves. They should be fast but standardised, while ensuring objective, transparent information in accordance with the law. To do that, journalists, in addition to having ethical qualities, sharp thinking and the ability to synthesise and analyse, first of all must be devoted to their profession and always learn to adapt, while having a desire to learn.
To bring inspiration and enthusiasm to the pen and the page, it is necessary to have passion for the profession, the desire to conquer reality in any situation/condition/time, with a must that requires information conveyed to be seamless, not violating professional ethics and ensuring reporters’ safety when operating. Practical experience is always a silent companion, something colleagues from various generations always share, under the common roof of Nhan Dan Newspaper, with its heroic 70-year history which I have chosen and am lucky to be a part of and devoted to.
The path to becoming a true journalist is difficult and arduous. Youth, devotion and passion will always act as a catalyst, helping me maintain my stance and firmly stand in my footsteps on all paths during my career.
