Sleepless editorial shock
In June 2025, I left Da Nang for Hanoi, entering the Multimedia Communication Center of Lao Dong Newspaper. The capital welcomed me with scorching sun, but that heat was nothing compared to the survival problem of publishing intensity. At the Center, the working pace is not measured in hours but in minutes. The target of at least one complete multi-media product per day is not just a number, it is iron discipline.
Taking on the role of multimedia means becoming a "one-man army". Without technicians, without assistants, my inseparable object was a heavy backpack and a metal tripod. There were days when I had to stand in the bustling sidewalk, meticulously adjusting every millimeter to erase the smooth background, keeping the correct proportion of the face. It was not just technique, but ultimate respect for the character, for the worker to appear most solemnly in front of the camera. I remember once the camera encountered an incident right in the middle of a live interview, sweat soaking my back, hands and feet awkward, it was the patting on my shoulder and the reassuring eyes of colleagues from afar that helped me regain composure, quickly process the equipment to complete the shot in the sigh of relief of the whole crew.
From the dialysis village to the center of the A80 grand ceremony
Doing electronic journalism is a commitment. Traveling all over the streets of the Capital, the most profound time left behind was the days with senior colleague - reporter Cao Hanh Thom carrying machinery weaving into the cramped boarding houses of dialysis patients.
In the suffocation of the poor boarding house, Ms. Thom instructed: "Your camera angle must be lowered, catching their eyes. Absolutely do not let the character see that they are pitying you. You must show readers the intense desire to live, that is the value of our newspaper." Under that correction, I learned how to evoke the story, turn rough films into works imbued with humanity.
The versatility of the cameraman was also "tested" at the A80 Grand Festival. Amidst a sea of people, I stood side by side with Ms. Hanh Thom dividing each corner of the camera. As soon as the interview ended, the roadside immediately turned into an office. While waiting for file processing software, my hands continuously swiped on the screen to cut and paste effects. That real-time battle required sharp eyes, a synthetic brain and skillful hand operations to put news articles on the homepage right when the event's heat was at its peak.
Test in the new land after the merger
On December 1, 2025, I returned to Da Nang with a priceless asset of sharp visual thinking. I immediately threw myself into a series of articles on social housing for workers. Those projects are now conveyed by visual videos, truthfully portraying every drop of sweat on the construction site, creating a direct weight on functional agencies.
Especially, from July 2025, when Da Nang and Quang Nam merged, the transition from 3-level to 2-level government is a revolution. Journalists are no longer allowed to stand at the district/district level to receive news but are forced to become pedestrians in each residential group. The most challenging is the March 2026 election. To have a realistic film, my colleagues and I traveled with equipment to remote communes of the old Quang Nam province.
My work and that of many colleagues at the Multimedia Communication Center is not just a media product. We are rewriting the story of the era with images and emotions. There are days when we have to "ambush" all day in the hot sun to wait for a precious moment, or wade through mud for kilometers to approach a "difficult" character. But when we see the completed product, when we read the feedback from readers, all fatigue disappears.
June 21st is coming again. Sitting in the city bustling with sunshine and wind, remembering the metal tricycle, remembering the days of sweaty days standing side by side with colleagues, I am even more proud of the path I have chosen. Multimedia journalism, although hard, although having to trade for countless pressures, will always bring lasting real values. That is the journey of passion, kindness and the desire to constantly strive for perfection in each frame.
Filmmakers, technicians, multimedia reporters like us, even silently standing behind the camera lens, are still striving every day, every hour to make each news bulletin, each film become a melodious, complete, and emotional music for millions of readers across the country. We understand that each frame is a crystallization of creativity, a concern about the profession, and above all, a passion to bring the public the best quality journalistic products. That journey is still ongoing, full of challenges but also full of brilliance under the sun of the spirit of dedication and responsibility of the writer.
