Memorable “first times”
In 2018, the production team, including 1 print reporter, 1 online reporter and 1 print layout technician, was directed by the Editorial Board of Khanh Hoa Newspaper to carry out a project reflecting the state of degraded school toilets for video on online newspapers. The "amateur" team was quite worried because they had never experienced visual journalism skills: How to build a script; how to organize the frame; how to plan the intro and outro (opening and ending) of the video to make it impressive; what content to introduce and where to put it appropriately... Many times, the team had to film over and over again because they forgot to pay attention to the background and supporting characters. There were days when they left early and didn't have time to eat breakfast, the technician's hands were shaking because he was carrying the camera to run after the children. The introduction was only a hundred words and he had memorized it, but in front of the camera, his speech suddenly faltered... However, the team always encouraged each other to make an effort. To get realistic scenes, the crew did not hesitate to work in suffocatingly smelly toilets. Once, Ms. Thanh Thao and Mr. Minh Khang had to stand in a garbage pit to film the background of the old, dilapidated toilet. Sometimes, the crew had to carry the camera and walk in the midday sun to a school in the mountains...
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| Journalists Thanh Thao and Minh Khang working in Ninh Hoa town, November 2018. |
In August 2024, while writing an article about the traditional basket weaving association of the Ede people in Ninh Tay commune (Ninh Hoa town), after interviewing and taking photos, Ms. Thieu Hoa asked the locals about basket weaving techniques. Hearing one of the locals say: "You have to do it to see, it's hard to talk about", she suddenly had the idea of making a clip to insert the article for easy understanding. The following week, she returned to the village to film the clip with her mobile phone. "4 days after the clip was posted, the Khanh Hoa Newspaper Association organized a training course on filming and editing videos. Some clips, including mine, became "teaching aids" to gain experience. The association's guidance was the first useful knowledge about visual journalism for me", Ms. Thieu Hoa confided.
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| Reporter Kim Dung conducts the Today's Issues column at the Departmentof Education and Training, September 2024. Photo: NGOC HOA |
In September 2024, when Khanh Hoa Newspaper launched two television columns "Hello New Day" and "Today's Issues" on the online newspaper, reporter Kim Dung was one of the two hosts. Having majored in print journalism, pursuing words on paper for 15 years, the first time she tried her hand at visual journalism, she suddenly became an "amateur" journalist. "The first time I sat in front of the camera, reading the news, I read the off-screen part (tape audio) instead of just reading the current part. The words continuously running on the teleprompter screen made me flustered, trying to "read after", forgetting to emphasize, express, sometimes stumbling, out of breath because of long sentences. When filming interviews, I also had to practice interacting with the characters naturally...", Ms. Kim Dung shared.
Love journalism more
The time spent trying her hand at television journalism helped Kim Dung better understand the hardships of television reporters and the importance of teamwork. She said: “Many times, the province’s events were held in the evening, and after finishing the “Hello New Day” news bulletin, it was also time to… say hello to the new day at the office. Everyone was tired, but still happy, because they had delivered current news. For me, working in television journalism is a memorable experience, helping me love and be more committed to the profession.”
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Reporter Cong Dinh participated in the livestream event celebrating the 30th anniversary of Au Co Secondary School (Nha Trang City), April 2025. Photo: HOANG NGAN |
A television reporter is already hard-working, but a print reporter doing television is even harder. For example, when reporting on a conference, you have to work for the print newspaper, film, and then edit the video for the television newspaper. There are moments that only last for a dozen seconds, if you prioritize taking pictures, you won't be able to film them in time; if you film first, you'll miss the opportunity to take good pictures; if you ask someone else to film for you, the quality will be... hit or miss. Some reporters leave in a panic only to discover that they've missed an important scene, making the image illogical with the sequence of events. Some characters agree to be interviewed, but when they see the camera, they shake their heads... Post-production is sometimes difficult: Just accidentally pressing the audio lock, struggling for a while but still can't insert the music; or uploading images but the editing software doesn't recognize them... However, according to Ms. Kim Dung, after each program, the feedback and suggestions from readers and colleagues help her gain valuable knowledge about television journalism. For Ms. Thanh Thao, the feeling of sadness is still there after many years of making videos about school toilets. Witnessing the poor and outdated facilities of rural schools reminded her of her childhood and made her feel more sorry for the children. Therefore, the team tried to make a video to reflect the current situation and propose improvements to the children's learning conditions. Although the first product still had some flaws, the team was still happy because it brought genuine emotions to the viewers.
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| Reporter Chau Tuong filmed a video at the folk dance festival "Victory Melody - Peace Dance", April 2025. Photo: NGOC THONG |
Decades ago, print reporters were only concerned with writing news and articles, while photojournalists were responsible for taking pictures. Later, each person wrote and took pictures at the same time; the work was more stressful, but they also learned more and were more proactive. “From bringing back scenes that made us feel like we were seasick; sweating all day just to edit a 1.5-minute clip, now print reporters know how to express images instead of words, write scripts, add music, and voice overs… Although we know that journalism is always stressful, we are very grateful to the agency's leaders for always setting new goals, forcing us to overcome our limits, becoming more and more versatile to create multimedia press products to serve the public,” Ms. Thieu Hoa confided.
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Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/xa-hoi/202506/khi-phong-vien-bao-in-lam-bao-hinh-31219bf/
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