Improving the quality of works participating in press awards from the efforts at local Association levels

(CLO) In order to produce high-quality journalistic works that participate in and win awards at the central and local levels, the Journalists' Associations at all levels have adopted creative approaches to encourage and motivate journalists to delve deeper into research, exploration, and continuous innovation.

Seek out creative works, discover something new.
Every year, the Vietnam Journalists Association , central ministries and agencies, and many localities organize numerous journalism awards of varying sizes to commend and honor the professional activities of journalists. However, in order to produce journalistic works that can compete with those of colleagues in central media agencies, local branches and federations of associations have implemented innovative solutions and created breakthroughs in this professional activity.

In recent years, central-level journalism awards, including the National Journalism Award, the Hammer and Sickle Award, and the Dien Hong Award, have become known as large-scale, highly prestigious awards with strong appeal to journalists. This is evidenced by the increasing number of journalistic works submitted by media organizations and journalists to these awards.

Reporters from Lao Cai Newspaper working in Sa Pa during the severe cold spell at the end of 2020. Photo: Provided by the reporter.

With increased investment in the works, the quality of entries and winning entries has improved year after year, and the content of the winning works has become increasingly diverse and rich, reflecting issues of concern to a wide range of social strata.

Among the winning entries in major journalism awards, there is a growing number of works from local media outlets, indicating a strong breakthrough and rise of local journalism.

At the Lao Cai Journalists Association, in order to produce many high-quality journalistic works for journalism awards, journalists must be versatile and multi-tasking, professional in all stages of creating a journalistic work. Each journalist now has to work independently and possess a wide range of skills.

The Lao Cai Journalists Association has proactively coordinated with the Center for Journalism Professional Training - Vietnam Journalists Association, selecting members to attend training courses according to plan. Simultaneously, surveying the needs and training content of its members, it has proactively organized training courses to improve professional skills in line with modern journalistic trends such as: multimedia journalism skills, producing television news reports on smartphones, photojournalism, etc., for journalists in the province.

The Provincial Journalists Association has planned and guided its members in producing journalistic works to participate in the Project to Support the Creation of High-Quality Journalistic Works and in competitions and awards organized by ministries, departments, and localities. Throughout the implementation of the Project, the Association has always prioritized the quality of creative works, journalistic works that discover new ideas, and those addressing obstacles in the implementation of socio-economic development tasks in the locality, thereby providing effective advice to the Party committee and local government.

Journalist Nguyen Thi Bich Hong, Permanent Vice President of the Lao Cai Provincial Journalists Association, shared: “Focusing on creating high-quality journalistic works will be the criterion for members and journalists to strive for. From the journalistic works that received investment support, the Journalists Association has coordinated with media agencies to select entries for national journalism awards. Among the high-quality journalistic works resulting from the implementation of the Project, many have won high awards at competitions and journalism awards such as the 15th and 16th National Journalism Awards and other major national journalism awards.”

Inspiring a spirit of dedication and overcoming all difficulties.

At the Thai Nguyen Radio and Television Journalists' Association, over the past 12 years, the association has had the honor of winning the National Journalism Award 10 times. These honors did not fall from the sky, but are the result of the passion, creativity, and efforts of each member and journalist, the investment strategy from the unit, and the support from the Thai Nguyen Provincial Journalists' Association.

Members of the Thai Nguyen Provincial Journalists Association visited key projects in Thai Nguyen City for a field trip. (Illustrative photo)

Having won numerous major national and local journalism awards over the years, journalist Dang Van Nghinh, a member of the Thai Nguyen Radio and Television Journalists' Association, has produced many engaging and relatable television programs that reflect the lives and development of the local people. Most recently, his television program "Suffering Because of the Law," co-authored with his colleagues, won the 18th National Journalism Award in 2023.

The work delves into an analysis of the shortcomings in the application of various legal regulations in many localities of the province, highlighting current bottlenecks and conflicts of law. Overlapping and conflicting legal regulations create difficulties for both citizens and authorities in applying them to daily life for economic development. Using realistic images from people's daily lives combined with modern graphic illustrations, he and his colleagues have created an engaging television program, while also offering recommendations to resolve current legal conflicts and unlock resources for socio-economic development in each locality.

Sharing his experience in creating award-winning journalistic works, journalist Dang Van Nghinh said: “First, I want to mention the phrase 'luck' or 'having a knack for journalism awards.' This is something we often hear, but in my opinion, luck, if it plays a role, is only a small part; the majority depends on the effort, enthusiasm, and passion of each journalist in contributing to themselves and their profession. We must affirm that to win an award, one first needs a serious, dedicated, and responsible attitude towards researching topics and choosing creative, appropriate, and effective ways of expression.”

In reality, to produce high-quality works for journalism awards, it's not enough to simply improve professional training. Each newspaper needs to seek out and select topics from real-life situations in their local area. They must bring something new, insightful, and different into their journalistic work. Such works should demonstrate meticulousness, depth of professional expertise, dedication, ethics, and social responsibility in their content, form, and methods of expression.

These are articles that not only reflect the current situation but also delve into the causes and propose solutions. In other words, journalism must participate in the process as a facilitator and proposer of solutions. Only then will the work be highly regarded.

Speaking about long-term solutions for this task, journalist Dang Van Nghinh said: “In addition to the Provincial Journalists Association continuing to focus on training, fostering, and updating new knowledge, the branches and leaders of specialized departments should also pay attention to allocating adequate time for journalists to delve into and explore content and materials from life to create quality works. Only when each individual has a spirit of dedication and overcomes all difficulties and obstacles can we hope to achieve success.”

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nang-cao-chat-luong-tac-pham-tham-du-giai-bao-chi-nhin-tu-no-luc-tai-cac-cap-hoi-dia-phuong-post334947.html