In 2007, I started working at the first press agency after graduating from college.
At that time, just having a ban computer and a "digital" camera was very "difficult". Compared to the means of production and requirements for press products today, all are sky-highly different.
In 2007, not many press agencies had electronic newspapers. Reporters go on business trips or attend an event or press conference in the morning, sometimes in the mid-afternoon before submitting the report to the news agency for printing. The product requirements are also very simple: 1 copy of text and attached illustrative photo. The court where I worked at that time even asked the reporter to print the article on paper and submit it to the court's secretary. After being edited by the newspaper's secretary or the leaders of the reporter's department/room with a red pen on the printed copy, the reporter edited it and sent the update information to the page arrangement department.
Currently, text content and illustrative photos are just a way, to be more precise, a very small part of the press products that reporters in general and Lao Dong reporters in particular must do. The changes, diverse requirements, and upgrading of press products towards multimedia have truly spread to every department and every reporter.
At the same event, we reporters had to work very quickly to have a product for the electronic version. In particular, in addition to the article, it is also possible to exploit more photo clusters, video daniting the scene... This "intention" is not only for each reporter to improve their skills and skills, adapt to new requirements of the journalism profession; more importantly, it is also to meet the increasingly higher and more strict requirements of readers. Even if it is an event with a large number of reporters attending, who can pick up the problem, pull up the good title, have more illustrative videos... to "enough" the role.
In addition, the quiet but fierce competition between each reporter and between news agencies also puts reporters in the situation of being eliminated if they do not change.
At Lao Dong Newspaper, all electronic publications and printed newspapers have been equipped with AI to the point of "teeth". This tool supports reporters in the process of completing the work: Review the spelling, propose better expressions, propose smarter SEOs and check the quality of the photo.
It is difficult to say clearly that AI and the remarkable progress of multimedia journalism make reporters happier or more miserable. More happy is because we have more vocational support tools; more miserable is because everyone is equipped with a modern platform, whoever does not strive will not be able to survive. At first, there were also concerns, doubts... but then we realized that technology, including AI, has changed everything and every area of life is forced to change. If we don't change, we will be on the sidelines.
The strictness of the newsroom from the increasingly high requirements of the Newspaper's leadership has helped us mature every day. We use AI in the work process regularly, initially as a free version, then upgraded to a paid version. We try every day with the spirit of "if you don't do it, stand aside and let others do it". Of course, in the context of the general economy, the press economy in particular is increasingly difficult, we deeply realize that working in a press agency that is about to reach the " centuries" threshold, having a job we love to do, having an income to support ourselves and our families is obviously a lucky thing.
We did not just write an article with a few illustrative photos and then satisfied ourselves with the work. We are aware of having to work quickly and accurately for the electronic version; handle another version for print newspapers; even reporters take the scene themselves, make videos... We use AI to post- control the article, "exposure" it in every stage of completing the press work. The newsroom also set new milestones, new peaks in view standards, in the number of newsletters.
With the "turmoil" of AI and technology in Lao Dong, we are more mature and do our job better.
