"Deadline" of journalism

Journalism is a profession that is a race against time, a profession that requires reporters to be ready to pack their “tools” and hit the road at any time. The “deadline” is not only a challenge but also a motivation for each reporter to complete their assigned professional tasks well.

Entering my 17th year of working as a journalist, with Dak Lak Newspaper, I have written many articles reflecting countless large and small events in the province. Each event requires reporters to be present as quickly as possible, collect the most accurate information and convey it to readers in the most timely manner.

I still remember, when the dike break incident in Quang Dien commune, Krong Ana district happened around mid-August 2019, at that time, it rained heavily all day, the roads were flooded, but my colleagues and I still traveled more than 40 kilometers to be present at the scene.

The scene at that time was hundreds of hectares of rice submerged in water, the faces of farmers stood helplessly watching their property being swept away by the flood. At the location of the broken dike, a "human barrier" was set up, the police force, soldiers, youth volunteers and hundreds of local people hurriedly moved sandbags, braced themselves to build the dike, with the faint hope of saving the few remaining crops.

Reporters from central and local press agencies work at the scene of the Krong Ana riverbank breach through a field in Buon Triet commune, Lak district.

In that tense atmosphere, the pressure of the “deadline” weighed heavily on the shoulders of each reporter. The phone was hot from constantly calling the editorial office to report the situation. Although working in unfavorable weather conditions, with unstable phone and internet signals, we still worked carefully to convey information as quickly and truthfully as possible, because news about natural disasters and floods is not just information, but also a warning, at the same time calling for help and encouragement from the community to flood victims.

If storms and floods are a war with nature at a certain point in time, the COVID-19 pandemic is a persistent, silent but fierce war on all fronts.

From the first days of the disease, to the complicated outbreaks, reporters have become one of the frontline soldiers on the information front. When the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in Dak Lak province, I was entrusted by the agency to work with reporters in charge of the health sector to "run" epidemiological news.

All information about cases, travel schedules, tracing measures, quarantine, social distancing... must be updated continuously. Quick, timely but requiring high accuracy, my colleagues and I are always careful to verify information thoroughly, avoiding even the smallest errors. Because when the first cases appear or the peak of the outbreak, each incorrect or unverified piece of information will have huge consequences and cause public confusion.

Reporters from Dak Lak Newspaper work on ensuring traffic safety on Ho Chi Minh Road through the province.

Working in the heart of the epidemic, the pressure is always heavy on the shoulders of journalists. We not only have to race against time to report news, but also face the risk of infection, with anxiety when having to regularly approach quarantine areas, field hospitals, or locked-down areas. Every time we go on assignment, we have to strictly follow epidemic prevention regulations, wear stuffy protective clothing, but the feeling of completing a quality article, in time for the "closing page" is an indescribable satisfaction, a source of energy to fuel the next challenges for me and my colleagues.

The pressure of meeting deadlines in this profession is always present, but that does not discourage me. On the contrary, those challenges motivate me to be steadfast in my journey of traveling and writing.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/xa-hoi/202506/deadline-cua-nghe-bao-9360324/