Working in a new land

The merger of provinces not only changed the boundaries on the map, but for many local journalists, it was also a quiet migration: leaving behind their homes and families, and getting acquainted with new roads and sources of information. Each news broadcast, each article sent to the editorial office, tells the story of their efforts to overcome personal challenges…

Journalist Nguyen Thi Luong (standing in the middle) working in Ka Do commune after typhoon No. 13, November 2025.

Suppressing the pain to go on air on this historic day.

July 1, 2025. A day that journalist Thu Hang, an MC for Quang Ngai Newspaper and Radio & Television (QNTV), will never forget. It was the first day of television broadcasting after the merger of Kon Tum and Quang Ngai provinces. Hang was assigned to co-host the program with male MC Phuc Duy, a joint broadcast between the two agencies: Quang Ngai Newspaper (PTQ) and Kon Tum Provincial Media Center (KRT). But Hang entered the studio with a heavy heart. Just a few days earlier, her father had suffered a stroke and been hospitalized, and with few people at home, Hang had considered leaving everything behind to go to the hospital… But on the morning of July 1st, when QNTV broadcast, the people of Quang Ngai province still saw MC Thu Hang on TV with a gentle, calm voice. No one knew that to achieve that state of mind, she had to suppress so many emotions.

Thu Hang, from the Kon Tum Provincial Media Center, felt a heavy weight when she "descended from the mountains" because she had left behind a teenage daughter, a five-year-old child, and a husband who was also a journalist and constantly away on business trips. Hang was eligible for retirement under Decree 178, but decided to persevere because: "I still love the profession very much," and she was encouraged by her family.

But the journey ahead was fraught with difficulties: a long 200km stretch of winding, foggy mountain passes, numerous landslides during the rainy season, unfamiliar land, unfamiliar water, unfamiliar people, and even unfamiliar food.

When they first arrived in Quang Ngai, Hang and four female colleagues from Kon Tum rented a house together. They hadn't been there long when they discovered the electricity and water supply were unreliable, so they had to move out. The group then temporarily stayed in a hotel while they continued their search for a place to live, feeling like recent graduates looking for accommodation. Fortunately, they later met a kind landlord who had moved to Ho Chi Minh City to live with his children, so he let the journalists stay in his house for free, only asking them to look after it.

The voice connects the highlands with the coast.

Every time she returns home, Thu Hang has to cross the nearly 30-kilometer-long Vi-o-lac pass, a journey so long that just hearing its name makes her prone to motion sickness. The five-hour journey, though long, fills her with excitement because her two children are waiting ahead. But when it's time to leave, her heart sinks, a long and arduous journey for a woman. However, ahead lies the film studio. The people of Quang Ngai are familiar with the gentle voice of the presenter from Kon Tum. Every evening, that voice, imbued with the spirit of the highlands, quietly connects the highlands with the coastal region through news reports conveying the rhythm of local and national life.

Having moved from Kon Tum to Quang Ngai less than a year ago, Thu Hang faced a challenge she had only seen on television before: a major storm making landfall. As Typhoon No. 13 approached the coast, people were busy reinforcing their houses, while Hang and her colleagues prepared clothes, blankets, and pillows to bring to the station, knowing they might have to sleep at the office all night if heavy rain flooded the roads. The wind howled, pounding against the studio. For many hours, Hang and her team continuously went on air to update the storm's progress. Outside, the streets of Quang Ngai were submerged in rain, wind, and darkness. As night turned into a new day, the female MC from the highlands quietly drove through the flooded roads back to her rented room.

The broadcasting team was small and the work was very demanding, so Hang tried her best to arrange her schedule, and even with the station's support, she could only visit her children once every two weeks. After lunch and dinner, the six sisters would share a room, which would then be divided into small corners where everyone would be glued to their phones, video calling home. Each time they video called, her two children would ask, "Mom, when are you coming home?" Hang didn't always have an answer.

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Get dressed in your work gear and wait for orders to depart.

Journalist Nguyen Thi Luong decided to leave her elderly mother and young daughter in Dak Nong, along with a comfortable life with a small spa and clothing store she had built up over many years, to work at Lam Dong Newspaper and Radio and Television, specializing in monitoring and reporting on the activities of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. Since then, Luong has become accustomed to a demanding work schedule in an area nearly four times larger than her old province, with many different microclimates.

There were days when the morning temperature in Da Lat was only a little over ten degrees Celsius, and Luong would wrap herself in layers of coats to protect against the cold. By noon, after a few hours of descending mountain passes with the working group, she found herself sitting in the sweltering heat of Phan Thiet, nearly 40 degrees Celsius. Without time to prepare, the entire team was still wearing their warm coats and high-heeled boots, typical of a cold climate, in the middle of a coastal region. Sweat poured down beneath their thick clothes, their backs soaked, but no one had time to change. As soon as one meeting was over, they rushed to another location. They'd quickly buy a new set of clothes at night, and the next morning they'd continue their journey. Trips followed one another from Da Lat to Phan Thiet, and from Phan Thiet back to Dak Nong, while weekends were just a concept on the calendar.

Monitoring the activities of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee meant always being ready to leave. The work schedule changed by the hour. There were days when he didn't receive notification until almost midnight that he had to leave early the next morning. Afraid of oversleeping or being a step behind, Luong would put on his work clothes before going to bed, so he could be on time the next morning.

Her laptop was rarely completely closed. On winding mountain passes, while many others were struggling with motion sickness, Luong would open her laptop and write news articles. The car was like a "mobile office," with sharp turns causing the screen to shake violently, but her fingers continued typing. For Luong, the biggest pressure wasn't the long journeys or restless nights, but the worry of news and articles being delayed. Luong said, "Local newspapers must be the first to know and write in their area; they can't be slower than central newspapers."

This female journalist quickly adapted to the converged newsroom model: a single trip had to produce electronic news, photos, television videos, and articles for print newspapers. The workload increased, the pace quickened, forcing journalists to constantly learn. And Luong chose to move forward, instead of doing the job instinctively or just to get it over with.

After the historic storm in November 2025, the once-famous high-tech agricultural fields in Ka Do commune, Lam Dong province, were reduced to barren rocks. Amidst the ruins, farmers silently gathered the remaining pieces of greenhouse netting. A man looked at the female reporter and, his voice choked with emotion, asked, "With you writing this, will the government be able to help us restore the fertility of our land?" Luong turned away, quickly wiping away her tears, then bent down to continue writing her unfinished notes. Never before had she felt such a poignant affection for that newly settled land.

I forced myself not to use Google Maps to familiarize myself with the new area.

In July 2025, journalist Khoa Diem, working at the Voice of Vietnam (VOV), moved from Kon Tum to Lam Dong province. At that time, it rained almost every day in Da Lat. Rain blanketed the slopes, covered the pine trees, and followed the VOV reporter on every journey he took. His only means of transportation was his motorbike, used for everything from going to work and meeting sources to unexpected reporting trips.

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Being away from home, even the smallest things become a challenge. One evening, feeling unwell, wanting a glass of hot lemon water to ease the fatigue meant having to put on his coat and go buy it himself. Life in a tourist city is much more expensive than where he used to live. But the biggest difficulty wasn't about food and accommodation, but about having to start all over again as a journalist entering his 50s.

In Kon Tum, years of working in the area gave him a whole "ecosystem" to facilitate his work. Upon arriving in Lam Dong, all that professional data suddenly vanished. To force himself to understand the area faster, he set himself a somewhat extreme rule: travel independently, without using Google Maps.

Once, while covering an event for the Provincial Police, his work finished at 6 PM, but it took him more than two hours to find his way back to his accommodation. These repeated instances of getting lost helped him memorize the names of the slopes, become familiar with each route, and identify areas prone to landslides during heavy rains. Motivated by his VOV (Vietnam Radio) uniform and feeling compelled to adapt to new demands, he spent his days in the field, his evenings reading additional materials, expanding his sources of information from colleagues, and gradually connecting with local leaders and residents. In a short time, the new area became familiar, giving him confidence and ease in his work, and ensuring he would no longer get lost…

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Source: https://nhandan.vn/tac-nghiep-o-vung-dat-moi-post970814.html