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| Comrade Do Thi Thin, former Editor-in-Chief of Thai Nguyen Newspaper and journalist Minh Hang took photos of the National Press Award Ceremony on Party Building - Golden Hammer and Sickle Award 2018. |
1. On the evening of February 3, 2018, on the splendid stage of the Hanoi Opera House, I (Journalist Minh Hang) and my colleagues stepped onto the podium. Amidst the thunderous applause and bright lights, the Certificate of Merit for the National Press Prize C on Party building - the second Golden Hammer and Sickle Award - was an affirmation: our silent and persistent efforts have been recognized.
Before that, in May 2016, we - Thai Nguyen journalists - were both excited and cautious to receive information about the big competition. Writing about Party building is not easy! Words like "enhance", "strengthen", "resolution", "policy"... were like heavy stones blocking inspiration. But the Editorial Board was determined to arouse the spirit of competition: inviting veteran journalists from the Central to share experiences, organizing internal competitions, establishing Steering Committees, Preliminary Committees... to encourage writers in the agency.
The entire Party Building and Internal Affairs Department sat together and analyzed our own strengths and weaknesses. As a local newspaper, our “angle of approach” was still narrow, limited by censorship and the fear of “offending”. So we had to change. We had to choose a topic that was big enough and deep enough - but still closely related to local reality.
We unanimously chose the topic: Innovation in the Party's leadership method, building a streamlined political system that operates effectively and efficiently - a difficult but very topical issue. As the Head of the Party Building - Internal Affairs Department, and also the person who "initiated" this idea, I created a general outline, then detailed each article: from sub-titles, main content, writers, submission deadlines... The whole department got to work like a team, both urgent and serious.
The following days were a series of busy days, filled with documents, going to the grassroots, editing, updating. Ideas were constantly debated and edited. Six people, six different "pieces", finally combined into a series of five articles that were unified in both content and spirit: Looking straight at the truth to innovate and streamline. The series of articles reflected a variety of locations, characters, ethnicities, and ages. There were places that were redundant, lacking, and out of place, so Deputy Head of Department Duong Van Hien and I discussed cutting, connecting, and editing. Needing photos, lacking documents, lacking evidence, reporters Tran Quyen, Hoang Anh, Linh Lan, and Quynh Trang went to villages, hamlets, communes, to meet, record, take photos, and collect information.
The pen was initially shaky, but the more we wrote, the more we “absorbed”. Understanding the Party was not only through documents and resolutions, but also through real life, through the breath of the people, through communal meetings, through stories around the fire with a long-time Party cell secretary. We “went with the people, thought with the people”, as veteran journalist Ha Dang once advised: writing about the Party must be truly “absorbed”, truly “alive”.
When the first article was published in the newspaper, the feedback came immediately. Some people praised: “Brave! Frank! Insightful!”. Others worried: “So sensitive, will we be “whistled”?”. But no, everything went smoothly. Perhaps because we did not write to “look for the needle in a haystack”, but to look back at the problems, to contribute to solving them, to bring the Party closer to the people.
There were only 54 awards for nearly 2,000 entries, yet the group of reporters from the Party Building - Internal Affairs Department was named among the big names. An honor that is not easy to come by. But for us, the most meaningful thing is that the people understand better what the Party is doing, worrying about, and innovating. So that the people can trust and accompany the Party more.
Years have passed, and that award is now placed solemnly in the traditional room of Thai Nguyen Newspaper. Every time I look back, memories of a journey come back to me. Not just a journey of journalism, but a journey of learning to be a writer about Party building with all my heart and responsibility.
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| Editor-in-Chief of Thai Nguyen Newspaper Nguyen Ngoc Son took a photo with a group of reporters who won the C prize - the 2023 Golden Hammer and Sickle National Press Award on Party building. |
2. The second time receiving the Golden Hammer and Sickle Award - the national press award for Party building (2024), my heart (Journalist Linh Lan) still beats as fast as the first time. It is not only an award, but also a recognition for the silent journey of sweat, tears and deep responsibility of reporters of Thai Nguyen Party Newspaper.
The three-part report series “Digitalizing Party work: Overcoming difficulties right from the beginning” brought our group to the Golden Hammer and Sickle Cup in 2023. It is not simply a journalistic work - it is the crystallization of a long journey that started from a seemingly simple question: “Can Party work really change to keep up with the 4.0 era? And if so, where will it start?”
That question prompted me from the first lines of information when Resolution No. 01-NQ/TU of the Thai Nguyen Provincial Party Committee on the digital transformation program for the period 2021-2025 was issued at the end of 2020. When the Provincial Party Committee launched the "Electronic Party Member Handbook" application, I suddenly understood: This is a major transformation in Party affairs - a digital effort to improve the quality of Party cell activities and the quality of Party members. And I proposed the topic to the Editorial Board, and together with a group of reporters, we diligently started working on it. Unexpectedly, that journey lasted more than half a year.
As the team leader, my team members and I made a clear plan: I was in charge of contacting the Provincial Party Committee's Organizing Committee, updating data and approaching the grassroots; local reporters were in charge of filming, interviewing, and collecting documents; reporters from the Electronic Department were in charge of post-production of videos and graphics. All information was updated and commented on via the Zalo group like a miniature newsroom.
From the center of Thai Nguyen city to remote communes of Vo Nhai and Dinh Hoa districts, from school party cells to village party cells, wherever we go, we are always concerned with one question: Can party members, especially the elderly, keep up with this application?
I still remember the image in a rural commune of Phu Luong district: An old man over 80 years old, a long-time party member, was guided step by step by a youth union member to install the application "Party Member Handbook". Holding the phone, he listened attentively, his hands operating on the application and asked: "Do we no longer need a paper book for party cell meetings? Through this application, I know a lot of official information!"
In another commune of Dinh Hoa district, a party cell secretary said: “At first we were worried, afraid that we would not be used to it. But the more we used it, the more convenient it became. Updating documents, monitoring party members… all it took was one touch.”
When writing the article, we did not “check the achievements”, but asked the opposite question: What is wrong? What needs to be adjusted when applying the Electronic Party Member Handbook? From actual field trips, the group of reporters also frankly reflected on the existing problems: In some places, the application is still formal, just installed and then... left there. Some older cadres still have difficulty using it. In some localities, the network infrastructure is not yet synchronized, leading to interruptions in operations. It is worth noting that these reflections were immediately received and adjusted at the subsequent review and summary conferences.
The message that our group of reporters wants to convey in this series of 3 articles is very clear: “Electronic Party Member Handbook” is not just a tool. It must become a bridge between the Party and Party members, between resolutions and reality, and to do so, it must come from practical needs and the support of the grassroots.
Perhaps what I remember most is not the moment I stepped onto the stage to receive the award, but the two sleepless nights I spent writing. Dozens of pages of notes, typed notes, images, and sounds were strung together, arranged, and then typed. Each line of text was a piece of reality, each paragraph was the voice of the person involved. The real slices were interwoven with analysis and quotations, making the series of articles not just information, but also emotions, thoughts, and expectations of those in the Party and writers.
The series of articles “Digitalizing Party work: Overcoming difficulties right from the beginning” is not my own product, but the crystallization of a collective. But I know, I wrote my part with both the seriousness of a journalist and the belief of a party member in the change of the Party.
As a reporter for a Party newspaper, and also in the Party Building - Internal Affairs Department, I have heard many people say: "Writing about the Party is too dry, who reads it?" But I believe: If the writer really goes - listens - sees - feels - then even what seems dry will move. Every time I look at the trophy on my desk, I tell myself: The Golden Hammer and Sickle Award is not only a professional reward for us, but also a reminder: Let's continue to write with passion, responsibility and faith.
In the flow of 100 years of Vietnamese revolutionary journalism, I am proud to be among the Party's journalists. Awards will pass, articles will be archived, but I believe what will remain forever is: lines written with the heart, for an increasingly innovative Party, closer to the people, and for a humane and upright revolutionary journalism.
Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202506/viet-bang-ca-trai-tim-va-trach-nhiem-b1c0b38/
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