The imprint of Lao Dong Newspaper through Trade Union Congresses

From propaganda newspapers to workers' forums

Opening up the valuable collection of documents on propaganda work through the Trade Union Congresses in Lao Dong Newspaper, today's journalists not only clearly see a Revolution in printing technology, visual presentation thinking, but above all, it is a journey of steadfast political fire, the revolutionary fire of the working class and the growth of the Trade Union organization.

The 2nd Vietnam Trade Union Congress took place in February 1961 - the time when the North entered the implementation of the First Five-Year Plan for National Economic Development (1961 - 1965) after the 3rd National Congress of the Party. In that context, propaganda work on Lao Dong Newspaper bears the imprint of the Revolutionary Press in the early period of building socialism in the North: Sharp in political theory, rich in propaganda and closely linked to the mass movement.

Lao Dong Newspaper was published on February 21, 1961 with the first visual highlight being the use of solemn red ink for the newspaper's magazine and the headline system right above "The 2nd Vietnam Trade Union Congress will open on February 23, 1961". The newspaper's front page presents many photos of international trade union delegations attending the 2nd Vietnam Trade Union Congress. The newspaper also issued a notice to readers "during the time the Vietnam Trade Union Congress is held, Lao Dong Newspaper will publish 8 pages each issue (No. 866, 867, 868) to publish the main documents of the Congress and help readers near and far follow the Congress more comprehensively".

The content of these issues is densely published with content about the Congress. Among them, the headlines "nails", red ink are solemnly printed on the issues such as: "The 2nd Vietnam Trade Union Congress has opened", "The Congress warmly welcomes Comrade Le Duan on behalf of the Central Party to attend and read the greeting", "Comrade Hoang Quoc Viet's opening speech", "Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Nghi reports on the first 5-year Plan and the 1961 Plan", "The greatest joy, a special honor for the Congress: President Ho Chi Minh has visited and instructed"... The front page and page in the issues combine words and images, highlighting the content of the Congress.

The editorial office organized an extremely coherent series of articles combining both macro vision and the breath from the grassroots level. The newspaper pages were both solemn with the Congress documents and close to the masses when continuously updating information about emulation movements and the enthusiastic response of workers and laborers to the Congress.

The bridge of the workers' movement

Entering May 1978, the 4th Vietnam Trade Union Congress took place in a completely new mindset. The country was unified, the mountains and rivers were connected in a strip, the working class of the South and North gathered together, attending the Congress under a common roof. That atmosphere was concretized by Lao Dong Newspaper with a breakthrough appearance in journalistic art in many issues before, during and after the 4th Vietnam Trade Union Congress.

The newspaper has smoothly combined political orientation and vivid practicality. The newspaper issues not only fully and deeply convey the will and direction of the Party and State through the speeches of leaders such as: General Secretary Le Duan, President Ton Duc Thang, Comrade Hoang Quoc Viet... but also clearly depict the portrait of the working class - those who directly "strongly advance into the front of building socialism".

The revolutionary spirit is reflected in many ways from the solemn atmosphere at Ba Dinh hall to the emulation movements of production exceeding the plan in all mines and construction sites. The articles recording the opinions of delegates in the "Faces, Beliefs" column have aroused class pride and selfless dedication of workers.

This is clearly shown through issue 19, issue 20 (published on May 11, 1978, May 18, 1978). Along with the content, the first page presentation style in these issues also has many special points. The most prominent point is the visual language of images, strong. The banner of Lao Dong Newspaper and the large headline about the Congress are printed in bold fonts, bright red, creating a strong visual effect, evoking the atmosphere of a big festival. The editorial office has reserved the most solemn positions for large-format documentary photos. That is the panoramic view of the solemn Ba Dinh hall or the emotional moment when comrade Nguyen Van Linh - Chairman of the 4th Vietnam General Confederation of Labour met and had a friendly conversation with delegates.

New Century Democracy Forum

Stepping into the 21st century, when the country entered the stage of accelerating industrialization, modernization and deep international economic integration, the propaganda work of the IX Congress (October 2003) on Lao Dong Newspaper has reached the comprehensive maturity of modern print newspapers.

In terms of form, the complete shift to multi-color printing technology on high-quality paper on the front pages creates a brilliant, dignified and extremely professional appearance. The system of large headlines and subheadlines is arranged according to a modern visual hierarchy model, helping to increase information recognition for readers. Press photos have mastered the space of the newspaper page with wide camera angles reflecting the grandeur of the congress hall, or portrait photos capturing the spirit of grassroots delegates. All create an extremely vivid visual flow.

Right under the Lao Dong banner, issue 284 dated Saturday (October 11, 2003) highlighted the red line "Today, the IX Vietnam Trade Union Congress solemnly opens". The message "Congress "Solidarity, wisdom, democracy, innovation" is solemnly placed at the beginning with many images towards the congress. The issue publishes a lot of information about "Delegates' opinions before the congress", "Recommendations of workers, civil servants and trade union organizations". In addition, the perspective of global integration is also clearly affirmed through the "Voices of Friends" section from international delegations.

Issues 285, 286, 287 published on (October 12, 13, 14, 2003) continue to deeply reflect on the IX Vietnam Trade Union Congress. In the issues, besides solemnly publishing the messages of Party and State leaders, Congress documents, the editorial office allocates a very large volume for the column "Voices from the grassroots level", bringing concerns and direct expectations from workers and engineers... increasing the attractiveness of the issues.

Going through historical milestones, we witness a spectacular development journey of Lao Dong Newspaper in terms of both content and presentation style. From rudimentary typo printed red headlines amidst bombs and bullets, to post-peace newspaper pages, and then modern multicolor print pages in the integration period. Technology can change, presentation can be innovated, but the historical source and mission of igniting the working class is like a red thread throughout the newspaper.