As a leader with "an eye for people", steadfast in character, sensitive to developments in politics , economics, culture, society..., he and his colleagues have brought Hanoi Moi beyond the framework of a local newspaper.
Trust and "eyes for people"
During 19 years as Editor-in-Chief from the fierce war days to the time when the Capital and the whole country entered the process of construction and innovation, journalist Hong Linh and his colleagues shaped a new Hanoi with a vision beyond the local framework, affirming his position in the revolutionary press, recognized by colleagues at home and abroad.
Many seniors of the Capital Party Newspaper said: A unique point of Hanoi Moi is the continuous process of merging many newspapers: the Capital Newspaper of the Hanoi Party Committee with the Hanoi Daily, a private newspaper; then merging the famous Thoi Moi Newspaper into the Hanoi Daily to form Hanoi Moi. This path creates unity, strengthens the strength of facilities and people, but also raises many arduous "kitchen" problems. Professional people who have been working in journalism for many years, under many newspapers, have very different personalities, utilizing their strength for the common goal of Hanoi Moi is not simple.
In the public and private stories under the roof of Hanoi Moi, journalist Hong Linh said: “The editorial board at that time had Mr. Le Tam Kinh, Duong Linh, Doan Chiem. I told him frankly that I only knew about journalism through management work, if you guys care and help me, I won't be able to do it and will cause a lot of damage. The first three months were really like an apprenticeship. People like Mr. Trinh My, Hoang Giap, Truong Uyen, Nguyen Duc Muu were very skilled, how could I use them?... I think trust is very important. Duong Linh was more skilled than me. Doan Chiem managed tightly. Those were really valuable deputies. As for Mr. Pham Phan, who used to work for Tram Hoa, a "problematic" newspaper, I just let him do the weekly part of picking out mistakes. Looking at the bookcase at home, you can see that he was very passionate about his job...”.
“Unifying words and actions” is not easy! Editor-in-Chief Hong Linh, who used to be Deputy Head of the Organization Committee of the City Party Committee, “has an eye for people” and is especially concerned with internal solidarity. Together with his colleagues, he reorganized the professional departments, added skilled people, and sent reporters to the base... Along with maintaining and assigning people to hold good columns of the predecessor newspaper, many new columns were born to meet practical requirements. Together with Nhan Dan and Quan Doi Nhan Dan, Ha Noi Moi formed a trio of daily newspapers in the North, with the scope of a national newspaper, and the team of journalists working for the Capital Party had matured in many aspects.
Regarding his work during the time of bombs and bullets, journalist Cong Hoan recounted: “At night, Kham Thien street was destroyed, at dawn, Editor-in-Chief Hong Linh was there... Once, as soon as the bombs stopped, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Le Tam Kinh rode his bicycle right there when the recovery force had just started to collect corpses and rescue the wounded... After the Dien Bien Phu victory in the air, comrade Hong Linh brought 12 issues of those 12 days and nights of heroic fighting to give to German friends in Berlin during a friendship visit, making our colleagues thousands of kilometers away extremely impressed...”.
Also a professional matter, from another perspective, writer-journalist Tran Chien said: "My colleagues from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Japan were very interested in the column "One story a day" of Hanoi Moi. They asked: How can we avoid trouble when we keep criticizing people for so many years?"
In these successes, Editor-in-Chief Hong Linh has left a strong mark.
A dedicated and courageous journalist
In the story of his former colleague, journalist Hong Linh was a serious and strict person. He never missed any of his superiors' meetings. Editor-in-Chief Hong Linh told his colleagues that if they didn't go and listen, they wouldn't know what to do and always affirmed that reporters working in the press were doing politics. As the mouthpiece of the Party Committee and the city government, Hanoi Moi Newspaper not only has the task of providing guidance but also has to be a propagandist, agitator, and organizer for all classes of people to strictly comply with the policies and laws of the Party and the State. The newspaper cannot take advantage of "criticism" to "beat the drums one way and blow the trumpets the other" with the direction of superiors.
Journalist Cong Hoan said: “Editor-in-Chief Hong Linh often goes to work early, arriving at the office at least 15 minutes early and usually leaves the office at 9-10pm to go home for dinner. Once I asked: "You often come home late like that, don't your wife and children call you?" Comrade Hong Linh laughed: "There's no time for revolution!"... Even though he has to be busy with meetings all day, as soon as he gets to the office, he rushes to read and approve articles. Because if there are any mistakes, as he said, the Editor-in-Chief must be the first to take responsibility...".
Also according to journalist Cong Hoan, Editor-in-Chief Hong Linh “is very strict with any article that is untrue, and will discipline the person who wrote it. The person is not bad, not guilty, but the newspaper says he is guilty. Thus, the “court of public opinion” “convicts” even more severely than a judicial sentence, because “going to jail for three years is not as good as publishing in a newspaper”. By the time the newspaper corrects it, “by the time you get into trouble, your cheeks are already swollen!”
His former colleagues said: Every day at around 5-6 pm, Editor-in-Chief Hong Linh went to the Readers' Committee to take all the letters received by readers during the day back to his office and each letter had a note on how to handle it. He met directly to answer, worked with relevant agencies to intervene for readers... In many cases, through readers' letters, journalist Hong Linh asked reporters to follow the field to go with him to the base to investigate. This way of working was not only admired by his colleagues in the agency but also respected by the base cadres.
In particular, Editor-in-Chief Hong Linh always knows how to care for everyone. In an article about his leader, journalist Hong Chau said: “He received a list from his superiors, suggesting that some reporters be transferred to other jobs, for various reasons, and that it would be difficult to work in a Party newspaper. It was difficult to handle because most of these brothers had been working in journalism for many years and had good skills. After studying, Hong Linh used the "delay" tactic, asking to let those brothers stay for a while and then consider later. In fact, he carefully met, learned about each person's abilities and wishes, found out their strengths and weaknesses, and boldly assigned them suitable tasks. After a while, most of them felt secure, tried to do their jobs well, and developed their strengths. Then no one had any more opinions!”
Remembering a difficult time, colleagues in the common house of Hanoi Moi cannot easily forget the times when Editor-in-Chief Hong Linh gave up his standard portion during holidays or kindly visited him whenever the weather changed. And as journalist Cong Hoan wrote: “In 19 years as Editor-in-Chief, there was not a single letter or a single line complaining about Comrade Hong Linh's work spirit, ethics, or style. In the agency, his colleagues considered him an "idol" in terms of ethics and character. In front of the benefits he enjoyed, he never accepted more than he deserved...”.
"Eyes on people" and dedicated style have engraved the name of Editor-in-Chief Hong Linh in the common house called Hanoi Moi Newspaper.
Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/nha-bao-hong-linh-tong-bien-tap-co-mat-nhin-nguoi-705789.html
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