From Manuscript to Page - An Editor's Silent Journey

Journalist Nguyen Phan Dau has been involved in journalism for more than two decades. For him, editors play an important role in perfecting each work.

1. One of the people who devoted all his heart to that silent work is journalist Nguyen Phan Dau, currently the Editor-in-Chief of Long An Literature and Arts Newsletter, Provincial Literature and Arts Association. In the 1990s, from his role as director of a state-owned enterprise, he "got involved" with journalism through articles published in Long An Newspaper and Lao Dong Newspaper.

In 2004, when the enterprise was equitized, he left his old job and officially pursued journalism as Head of the Long An Newspaper Reporter Department (now Long An Radio and Television ), then became a key writer and leader of the Lao Dong Newspaper Representative Office in the Mekong Delta region. He won the National Press Award in 2009 and many press awards at the ministerial, industry, and Long An province levels, etc. By 2022, he retired and was assigned to be the Editor-in-Chief of the Long An Literature and Arts Newsletter.

Having held many positions, journalist Nguyen Phan Dau understands the irreplaceable role of editors in journalism. Sharing about how to organize work to ensure progress and quality of each magazine issue, he said: “I assign editors according to content, when one person has too many articles, I personally take on editing to help. Each issue has a specific deadline for each stage, such as the date of receiving articles, editing, page placement, then rereading the whole, checking for morat,... The deadline has an additional backup time, in case of unexpected events.”

Not only controlling the progress, he also plays an important role in orienting the content, creating an impression for each issue. The Head of the Editorial Board of Long An Literature and Arts Newsletter informed: "For each issue of the magazine, I choose a specific topic, like the recent issue 30/4 with the topic of the Country full of joy. The Editorial Board outlines, organizes the main article lines and then assigns reporters and collaborators to write according to their strengths. For topics that require in-depth expertise, I order from experts, they provide the content, and I write the articles according to my taste."

As someone who has personally edited and completed many manuscripts, journalist Nguyen Phan Dau cherishes the moments that contribute to elevating a work. Once, he edited a contributor's reportage. Although the article had good material, the way it was presented was limited. He changed the title, made a sapo, rearranged the layout, and rewrote a few opening sentences. As a result, the article was chosen by the press agency as the best article of the month and the contributor later became a professional reporter.

According to journalist Nguyen Phan Dau, editors are people who stand behind the scenes, do not have the halo like reporters when their works are honored, but they are the ones who contribute to improving the quality of articles, orienting topics and supporting young writers. He emphasized: "For me, each issue published, each article I edit after reaching the hands of readers, being positively received by them, having a good impact on society and life is the most precious reward for editors."

Content Editor of Long An Newspaper and Radio and Television Station - Nguyen Thi Thuy Huong always strives to improve her skills and expertise to bring quality news and articles.

2. Starting work at the end of 2009 as a reporter in the culture and society section, by the end of 2017, journalist Nguyen Thi Thuy Huong moved to work as an editor at Long An Newspaper (now Long An Radio and Television Newspaper and Station). More than 8 years of working as a reporter has equipped her with valuable experiences, creating a solid foundation for her future editing work.

“Unlike normal administrative work, an editor’s day does not follow a fixed schedule, sometimes starting at 5am and ending at 10pm. That does not mean working continuously but being proactive and flexible. As soon as I receive a draft from a reporter, I will start editing so that the news and articles can be published early, shortening the time spent working on the newspaper each day,” Ms. Huong shared.

Every profession requires continuous learning, but journalism requires even more learning because journalists, especially editors, not only need deep and broad knowledge in many fields but also require sharp editing skills and especially a "clear and objective mind" when arranging news and articles. Editors are considered the "gatekeepers" of the editorial board, so meticulousness and carefulness are essential to avoid mistakes. With "difficult cases", she often reads the manuscript over and over again, rearranges ideas or contacts reporters to add details to make the article more complete.

Ms. Huong's point of view is to maintain the reporter's original writing style, only editing when necessary to ensure coherence, logic and avoid wrong viewpoints, especially with sensitive topics. For her, the joy in editing is when she reads good, interesting manuscripts or receives thank-you messages from reporters and collaborators.

“The editor is not only a “bug catcher” but also a “cook”, helping the reporter’s “brainchild” to be perfect. When you are satisfied with the article published in the newspaper, the editor is also happy” - Ms. Huong confided.

In the digital age when artificial intelligence (AI) is gradually penetrating many fields, content editors are not out of the influence. However, Ms. Huong believes that AI is just a support tool, a reference channel to learn and apply to work. Because both writing and editing require real emotions and each person's own perspective on problems. "Only things that come from the heart can touch the heart" - she affirmed.

The silent journey of content editors is a clear demonstration of their unending dedication, meticulousness and pure heart towards the profession. They are the ones behind the “halo”, contributing significantly to bringing the best quality information to readers./.

Ngoc Han - Hoang Lan

Source: https://baolongan.vn/tu-ban-thao-den-trang-bao-hanh-trinh-tham-lang-cua-bien-tap-vien-a197241.html