The golden age of print journalism
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| Tram's newspaper stand (Thong Nhat Street) is the largest remaining newspaper stand in Nha Trang. |
Over 20 years ago, I officially entered the world of journalism in Nha Trang, right when the press was at its peak. Major newspapers like Tuoi Tre, Thanh Nien, Ho Chi Minh City Police, Ho Chi Minh City Women's Newspaper, Nguoi Lao Dong, Ho Chi Minh City Sports , Daily Sports, and Football... competed fiercely for space on newsstands every morning. The intense competition in content and distribution brought joy to readers. The demand for newspapers grew so large that many newspapers began printing in Nha Trang to distribute to provinces in the South Central and Central Highlands regions, instead of waiting for shipments from Ho Chi Minh City as was the case in the 1990s.
Newspaper shops, both large and small, can be found on most of the main streets of Nha Trang. Readers of that era still remember the names associated with each street corner: Hoang (25 Phan Chu Trinh), Son "the Black" (Dam Market), Nhu (Nguyen Trai Street), Truong Phat (also known as Loan's newspaper stall, Ly Thanh Ton Street), Mai, Tram (Thong Nhat Street)... Each stall had its own loyal customer base; as soon as a customer leisurely parked their motorbike near the sidewalk, the seller would quickly select the newspaper the customer needed without needing to ask. "During peak periods, I sold nearly 1,000 newspapers a day. I sold 100 copies of the daily sports newspaper alone," recalls Ms. Truong Thi Thuy Tram, owner of the Tram newspaper stall in front of the former Tan Tan cinema on Thong Nhat Street, Tay Nha Trang ward.
Besides the fixed stalls on the streets, there are also a whole army of street newspaper vendors at train stations and bus terminals. During the Euro and World Cup seasons, the number of street newspaper vendors skyrockets, and breaking sports news sells like hotcakes. Walking around the streets early in the morning, you can easily spot motorbike taxi drivers sitting precariously on their bikes parked under trees, reading newspapers still smelling of fresh ink while waiting for customers. In a corner of a coffee shop, men slowly sip their coffee while staring at the newly published newspapers, excitedly discussing football and criminal cases they've "picked up" from the news.
The newspaper distribution process back then was also very bustling. In 2012, when I was working on the report "The Silence Behind the Newspaper," I visited the printing house of Khanh Hoa Printing Joint Stock Company to learn about this process. Around 1 AM, while most people were still fast asleep, the drivers were already at the printing house picking up their orders. Stacks of newspapers, still warm and with ink not yet fully dry, were quickly packed and loaded onto trucks, ready to be transported to distant locations such as Cam Ranh, Phan Rang, Da Lat, and Dak Lak . By around 3:30 AM, large distributors like Huong Son (23rd October Street), Truong Phat (Ly Thanh Ton Street), and Tan (Bach Dang Street) all sent people to the printing house to pick up newspapers. Motorbikes came and went constantly, carrying stacks of newspapers piled high. Upon arriving at the distributors, everyone started dividing the newspapers to distribute to smaller distributors and street vendors; the atmosphere was like a small construction site at dawn. At that time, Mr. Phan Minh Son, the owner of the Huong Son newspaper agency, said that his agency distributed up to 170 newspapers and magazines, importing about 5,000 newspapers and hundreds of magazines every day, and had to hire four more people to keep up with the workload.
As newsstands gradually became less crowded.
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| Ms. Thanh, the owner of a newspaper stall at the corner of Thong Nhat and Le Thanh Phuong streets (Tay Nha Trang ward), still maintains her family's newspaper stall. |
But then things changed rapidly. In the last 10 years or so, the convenience of smartphones has led to a significant decline in the number of people reading print newspapers. Many people choose to read online newspapers. Especially with the explosion of social media, the number of print newspaper readers has dropped considerably.
This shift led to a significant decrease in newspaper circulation, with distributors and newsstands gradually withdrawing, each going its own way. Since 2014, Truong Phat newspaper agency, Nha Trang's oldest, moved from its "headquarters" at 12 Ly Thanh Ton to a private residence in an alley off Luong Dinh Cua Street. Circulation has steadily declined, now down to only about 130 newspapers per day, compared to thousands during its heyday. The once-famous Huong Son newspaper agency also closed in 2024. Newsstands that were familiar to generations of readers, such as Hoang (Phan Chu Trinh Street), Nhu (Nguyen Trai Street), and Tuyet Nga (Ngo Gia Tu Street), have also closed down one after another.
In Nha Trang's coastal area, only a few newspaper stalls on Thong Nhat, Le Quy Don, and Tran Quy Cap streets still sell daily newspapers. Mr. Lai Minh Tanh, the manager of the Mai newspaper stall (Thong Nhat street), shared: "Nowadays, young people rarely buy print newspapers; only middle-aged and older readers still buy them. The profit is very low; I only make about 500 to 600 dong per issue. Sometimes, if the daily newspapers don't sell out, I lose money. I keep the unsold issues and provide them to customers who need older issues."
Newspapers are no longer the primary source of intellectual nourishment in society. Nevertheless, there are still those who remain loyal to the habit of reading print newspapers daily, one of whom is journalist Khue Viet Truong. For him, a print newspaper not only provides information but also "brings the feeling of being connected to current events. A feeling that browsing online cannot replace. No matter how much life develops, holding and flipping through a print newspaper every day remains a pleasure," journalist Khue Viet Truong said.
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| Few young people nowadays have the habit of reading print newspapers. |
Let's believe that, even though newsstands today are few and far between, the culture of reading print newspapers still holds an irreplaceable place.
THANH NGUYEN
Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/xa-hoi/202606/nho-thuong-sap-bao-via-he-2fd46cf/
