The “sweet taste” of journalism…

Journey to the Dien Hong Journalism Award

Although he has won many journalism awards, journalist Tuan Ngoc always humbly shares that his award-winning works are partly due to his luck when he was able to live in the heart of the event, living with very special characters in his homeland. During his journey of more than 12 years of working, journalist Tuan Ngoc has reaped many joys on the red carpet: winning the national C prize in the creative movement on studying and following the moral example of Ho Chi Minh in 2016; winning the Lao Cai Provincial Press Prize in 2017; winning the A prize in the Journalism Award for Sustainable Development in 2018; winning the C prize in the Journalism Award for the cause of great national unity in 2022 and winning the C prize in the National Journalism Award on the National Assembly and People's Council (Dien Hong Prize) in 2023.

Contributing to the professional memories of journalist Tuan Ngoc are the arduous and difficult trips to the remotest and highest villages in the province, where few people pass by. In it, journalist Tuan Ngoc recounts the unforgettable impressions of his journey to work on the recently awarded Dien Hong series - the 4-part series "The "ambassadors" of the people's hearts in the highlands and border areas".

He shared that: The story began one day in early 2023 when he had the opportunity to interact with a journalist from Hanoi who was working in Lao Cai. During that meal, my friend asked me if Lao Cai Newspaper had submitted an article to the Dien Hong Press Award and encouraged me to participate, because this is a national press award organized for the first time by the National Assembly Office in coordination with a number of central ministries and branches. When I returned, I learned that the Dien Hong Press Award is a major press award, writing about the National Assembly, People's Councils and the contributions of National Assembly deputies and People's Council deputies at all levels. However, due to busy work, it was only when there was more than a month before the deadline that I focused on thinking, finding topics, building outlines, and working with colleagues to write a series of articles "The "ambassadors" of the people's hearts in the highlands and border areas".

Journalist Tuan Ngoc meets the character.

Normally, writing portraits of advanced models in fields such as economics , education, culture, etc. is not too difficult because the results are quite clear. But for the People's Council delegates with the role of bridging, listening and bringing the voices, thoughts and aspirations of voters to higher levels in meetings, and at the same time answering the issues of concern to voters, choosing characters is difficult, writing well, attractively while still honestly reflecting the results of the delegates' activities is even more difficult, making us think and worry. Therefore, in each article, there are contents and sentences that have to be revised many times.

Our most memorable experience is that the journey to meet the delegates in each article is a journey of 70 to 100km to 3 border districts of the province. To meet delegate Ly Gia So, Ha Nhi ethnic group, Vice Chairman of the People's Council of Y Ty commune, Bat Xat district, on Friday, the reporter only talked with her for a short time because she was busy participating in a working session with the working delegation from the province. We stayed in Y Ty for one night, and on Saturday morning we followed her down to the village, recorded real images and had more interesting information for the article. Even the business trip to meet delegate Nung Thi Thu, Nung ethnic group, Secretary of the Party Committee of Nam Lu commune, delegate of the People's Council of Muong Khuong district, was also rushed, because despite many appointments, she was always busy with meetings and working programs in the locality.

For delegate Trang Seo Xa, a Mong ethnic, Secretary of the Youth Union, delegate of the People's Council of Quan Ho Than commune, Si Ma Cai district, after a journey of more than 100 km, we arrived at his farm at around 11 am. The conversation and exchange with Trang Seo Xa took place right in his pear garden throughout the afternoon. After chatting, gathering information, and taking photos, we hurriedly left Quan Ho Than at nearly 1 pm. It was very touching because even though it was late, Giang Sin Cho - Member of the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Si Ma Cai district still waited for us to go to Si Ma Cai market to have lunch together.

Although the 4-part series “The “ambassadors” of the people’s hearts in the highlands and border areas” was written in a hurry, we still managed to participate in the Dien Hong Press Award on time. The most touching moment was when we were overwhelmed with joy when we received information from the Organizing Committee that the series had won the C prize. Out of more than 3,300 entries, only 101 excellent works were selected for the final round and 67 best works were awarded. Lao Cai Newspaper was also one of the few provincial newspapers to win the first Dien Hong Press Award. That joy gave us new energy to continue contributing on the journey of journalism ahead.

The Story of the Forgotten Camera

After more than 12 years working for Lao Cai Newspaper, journalist Tran Tuan Ngoc has many unforgettable memories on his journey of work, but there are memories that still make him emotional until now. Journalist Tuan Ngoc shared: It was an afternoon in early 2023 when fog covered the mountains and villages in the highlands of Bat Xat. I went on a work trip to A Lu commune - the most remote highland commune and also one of the most difficult communes in Bat Xat district to write about the difficulties in land management and construction here. After interviewing the commune leader, I went with the commune cadastral officer to interview a household, but unfortunately no one was home. Even so, I still decided to take photos of the illegally built house for documentation. Even with a modern camera, it was difficult to take the desired photos in the thick fog. To be more careful, I even used my phone to take more photos in case the camera card was faulty and ruined the whole work trip.

It was now past 2pm, the weather was freezing cold with a misty rain. We hurriedly set off to the second character's house. The fog was so thick, my eyes were nearsighted and I had to wear glasses. After a while, I had to stop and wipe my glasses to clear them before I could continue. We trudged along for nearly ten kilometers in the fog and then turned up a steep slope to reach a local's house. At this time, I took out my camera to work and was shocked because my backpack was empty. Where was my camera? Calmly remembering, it turned out that in my haste, I had left my camera on some rice husk bags next to a house by the roadside. Nearby, there was a Hmong woman working. Although I was extremely worried, I decided to finish the interview and then go back to find my camera, otherwise I wouldn't have enough material to write the article, and I wouldn't be able to return before dark because the journey was still nearly 100km.

Journalist Tuan Ngoc at work.

I was overwhelmed with joy when I returned and saw my beloved camera still lying on the wet rice husks on the roadside. At that moment, the Hmong woman sitting next to the house said, “ You left in such a hurry that you forgot your camera. I didn’t have a car to chase after you so I sat here and waited for you to come back and get your things .”

I was surprised by the kind words and actions of the young woman with a gentle and kind face and eyes. To me, the camera is a priceless asset, because in addition to being worth nearly tens of millions of dong, it also stores many documentary images from previous work trips. When asked further, she said her name was Thao Thi Song, living in Phin Chai 1 village, A Lu commune, her family was also in a difficult situation, with two small children. In my wallet, there was only a little money left for gas, nothing to thank her with, I suddenly remembered that I still had a few boxes of cakes to eat on the road and for children in the highlands, so I took them all out and gave them to her with a heartfelt thank you and a promise to visit her house one day soon.

Until now, I still think about the Mong woman in Phin Chai 1. If I had not met a good person like her, I might not have found my camera in such a wild and deserted place. This memory has given me a valuable lesson, Ms. Song's actions remind me to always remember that no matter what the circumstances, how difficult or deprived, live for others, never let greed and selfishness overcome the kindness in each person...

May River

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/vi-ngot-nghe-bao-post265481.html