Applying technology at the Museum of Journalism

Thanks to digital technology, visitors to the Vietnam Journalism Museum can admire 35,000 artifacts and access career stories of generations of veteran journalists, through touch.

Located at the Vietnam Journalists Association building on Duong Dinh Nghe Street (Cau Giay, Hanoi), the Vietnam Press Museum has an exhibition area of nearly 1,500m2, equipped with quite modern facilities in 2 main spaces, each exhibition space has corresponding touch screens for visitors to look up. These screens post newspaper pages, stories, images and films related to the Vietnamese press suitable for each period. With a capacity of up to 2TB and online connection to the server, these screens help visitors access a rich amount of information and museum staff can easily log in to manage and update digital displays continuously anywhere.

Diamond podium at the 1865 - 1925 press gallery.

Entering the museum, right at the reception hall and the space displaying Vietnamese Press from 1865 - 1975, visitors can experience 14 touch screens; can look up information related to the displayed artifacts and have sound-directional speakers. Going up to the 2nd floor, the space displaying Vietnamese Press from 1975 to present, the museum arranges 58 touch screens and projections. Visitors can experience the activity of looking up and learning about press activities in 63 provinces and cities of Vietnam, learn about 5 major press agencies in the country and 3 main press topics. This is the space to experience different types of press, the lookup area, the event organization room and the martyrs' memorial wall. “The introduction of digital search screens has helped the museum publish a rich amount of information in the context of a modest exhibition area, especially the press space of 63 provinces and cities, to better meet the needs of visitors,” said Museum Director, journalist Tran Thi Kim Hoa. Talking about the special feature of the museum, which is the application of information technology in exhibitions, journalist Tran Thi Kim Hoa shared: As a museum specializing in journalism - a field that requires agility, accuracy and regular technological innovation, the Vietnam Press Museum advocates integrating the application of information technology in a synchronous system throughout from the collection and management of documents and artifacts, to the digitization of museum exhibitions, integrating online exhibition management technology, and communication work through multimedia technology devices.

Reporters working at the Museum of Journalism.

With the digital display method, museum visitors can directly access sounds, images, films, journalist portraits and press stories with just a touch, making the artifacts attractive and vivid.

Currently, the Vietnam Press Museum's warehouse is storing and preserving more than 35,000 rare documents and artifacts. Among them, there are many artifacts that museum staff have searched for in all three regions, and there are also artifacts that journalists and relatives of journalists have proactively sought out and donated to the Vietnam Journalists Association. Each artifact is a touching story of the writer's career. When he heard that the museum was about to be established, journalist Viet Tung brought to the museum a photo of President Ho Chi Minh typing at the Viet Bac resistance base in 1950. This is a unique photo, with Uncle Ho's handwriting and signature on the back. Another day, a sound engineer of the Eiffel Tower, former Secretary General of the Vietnamese Association in France, brought back from France a typewriter - an artifact at the same time as the typewriter that Uncle Ho used during his years in the Viet Bac resistance base. Knowing that the Vietnam Press Museum was about to be established, he decided to collect a typewriter similar to the one Uncle Ho used to bring back to the museum as a gift. “It is a very meaningful artifact, helping us to imagine the familiar object associated with the vibrant journalism activities of journalist Nguyen Ai Quoc when he was young in the French capital,” said journalist Tran Thi Kim Hoa.

Many current events are on display at the Museum of Journalism.

During two years (2013 - 2014), the family of journalist Hoang Tung, former Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, donated many souvenirs to the Press Museum, including the rattan table and chairs he used when he was working, notebooks and many other press documents. In a small corner of the museum, there is also a map of Saigon drawn by Mr. Nguyen Thanh Ben, a reporter for the Liberation News Agency. When working in the war zone in Tay Ninh, Mr. Thanh Ben always remembered Saigon and looked forward to the day of liberation. This map was in his personal belongings until 2015, when museum staff came to exploit the documents, he gave it back. Photographer Doan Cong Tinh also donated to the museum a machine gun barrel and an iron bowl used to hold film and mix chemicals to develop film when he was on duty in the Quang Tri battlefield in 1972.

Another special souvenir kept at the museum is the photo of the opening day and the souvenir book of the graduation day of Huynh Thuc Khang journalism school. The school was established in 1949, with only 3 months of study with 42 students from all over the country, a school in the middle of the green forest, with thatched roof houses. This place has gathered famous lecturers and students such as Uncle Truong Chinh, General Vo Nguyen Giap, Nam Cao, Nguyen Huy Tuong... Uncle Ho sent letters to the school twice, discussing the profession and giving advice to teachers and students here. Many visitors to the museum today were surprised by the display of 30/38 issues of Le Paria (The Miserable) newspaper, of which revolutionary Nguyen Ai Quoc was the editor-in-chief during his revolutionary activities in France. Among them, the first issue was published on April 1, 1922 and the last issue (No. 38) was published on April 1, 1926.

Le Paria (The Miserable) newspaper display booth.

As a newspaper published in France a century ago and under strict control of the French government at that time, finding these documents was one of the most difficult steps because there were very few documents and artifacts about Le Paria. Therefore, finding documents about these newspapers was not simple. Museum staff had to send letters to a number of archival agencies in France such as the National Library, the National Archives Center and continued to receive enthusiastic support from colleagues from Europe, of which the National Library of France provided 25 issues. However, through contact and research, these agencies did not have the first published newspaper. Later, with the help of the agency, a high-quality digitized copy of this first issue of Le Paria was presented to the Vietnam Press Museum by a French expert. It is worth noting that all 30 issues of this newspaper were collected and searched for during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating the tireless efforts of museum staff.

In 2022, the museum organized an impressive exhibition at the National Press Festival and on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City about the event of Le Paria newspaper on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, publishing its first issue. That helped the public better understand journalist Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh, better understand a part of the Vietnamese press abroad during the period when our country was moving towards national independence. Despite opening in a difficult context, especially the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, in recent years, the Vietnam Press Museum has welcomed over 37,000 visitors, including thousands of international visitors. The museum has organized many meaningful events to introduce and promote the value of the press heritage of the periods that have been received and highly appreciated by public opinion and the public. “Obviously, history has many doors, many different stages, and there will be many artifacts and many interesting stories that need to be brought to the public. The Vietnam Press Museum will not only tell historical stories but also continue to tell stories about contemporary journalism and journalists today. Because today will become history. And the work and efforts of those working in the museum will contribute to writing the most vivid and authentic pages of journalism history through original artifacts, “talking” press documents and examples of tireless dedication and sacrifice of generations of Vietnamese revolutionary journalists,” shared journalist Tran Thi Kim Hoa.