Giang Thuy Linh - an tireless commitment
When I was honored at the 2025 National Press Awards, I felt very honored. This is the second time I have received the National Press Award - a recognition of great significance to those working in the profession.
To complete the article "Wild animals still flow", my group and the reporter group had many hardships. Right from the idea stage, we identified this as a difficult topic, because the scope of the area is large, requiring a lot of time, many field trips and effort to find new clues.
However, with the desire to bring a different perspective, we have persistently found a deeper approach to a seemingly old topic, which has been exploited by many of our colleagues before. There were times when I thought about giving up because I couldn't find a clue. However, thanks to the encouragement from the board's leaders and the Editorial Board, I regained my spirit and determined to pursue the topic to the end.
After many months of perseverance, we have discovered the tricks that the subjects used to conceal the trade of wild animals. Based on those details, the group has developed a series of 5 articles Wild animals still flow and was lucky to win the National Press Award in 2025.
Phong Linh - the journey to bring the truth to readers
As a young person working at Lao Dong Newspaper, I was lucky to learn many valuable things from previous generations of journalists. At the Mekong Delta Office, no matter the circumstances, the brothers are always ready to be present at the hot spot, facing difficulties to most truly reflect life.
For me, the incident of a 10-year-old boy in Dong Thap falling into a concrete pillar 35m deep, which happened in early 2023, was a strong mark of my career on the path to becoming a journalist. I have never understood the title of "battlefield reporter" to be so pressured!
When the authorities rushed to rescue, we - the reporters - also entered the pressured information race. The most stressful thing is when the People's Committee of Dong Thap province agreed to send a representative to answer the press twice a day about the situation and plan to rescue the child. Accordingly, the pressure on reporters has increased many times, each report must be completed at the fastest and most accurate speed.
Almost, after only 10 minutes of filming, I transferred the news to the newsroom, then continued to read the comments and make videos. ignoring the competition of newspapers, I just hope to provide quick information to readers soon, because not only the family and relatives of the child are tired of waiting for the news, but the whole country is looking forward to Dong Thap in the hope of a miracle appearing.
Thieu Trang - stepped into the journalism profession with passion and kept her passion burning with pride
I became a journalist quite early - at the end of my third year of university, I started collaborating with Lao Dong Newspaper, in charge of Education. Coming to Lao Dong with the dream of a career, I chose to stay because of my love and the pride of working in a traditional newspaper.
The most memorable milestone is probably 2021, when I was honored to receive the National Press Award "For the cause of Vietnamese education". As a young student, I feel very honored and proud to be able to contribute to the education sector and be recognized with a prestigious journalism award.
The deeper I got into the profession, the more I absorbed the hardships that journalists had to face. We often joke that: Education reporters are eating and sleeping with candidates. From the days of on-call duty all night, watching the exam scores, waking up at 4am to meet the valedictorians... to the urgent interviews right after the exam ended - those were all experiences that were both hard and proud.
Linh Trang - Gen Z makes newspapers and the journey to adulthood with a pen
I had the opportunity to intern at Lao Dong Newspaper since the end of my first year in college - a time when I was like a white paper, never knowing the skills of writing news, leading on the spot or creating newsletters. The initial knowledge I have is mostly just a vague image learned from reporters on television.
One of the works that I will always remember is at around 10:00 p.m. in late July 2022. At that time, in the Ha Dong area, a serious series of accidents occurred: a "speed demons" drove a car at high speed, hitting a series of vehicles that were stopping at red lights, injuring many people.
At that time, I had only been in Lao Dong Newspaper for a week, but I still proactively volunteered to go to the scene. Before my eyes was a chaotic scene: Motorbikes, deformed cars, and injured people were taken to the emergency room. Although I was still confused and a bit scared, a reporter and I quickly recorded the image and information and transferred it to the newsroom at the right time. That was the first time I felt clearly what the responsibility of journalism was.
Up to now, after more than 3 years of working with Lao Dong, I have experienced many unforgettable "firsts": The first time giving a report, the first time writing a newspaper, the first time working in the midst of storms and floods, in the midst of fires... Each time is both a challenge and also a step to maturity.
Some people once joked: "Only reporters get to the street when it rains like that!". I listened and just laughed, because we - Gen Z - although sometimes associated with the "lazy" look in everyday life, when an event happened, it was the young people who proved their mettle, quietly held the camera, recorded, and wrote news in the wind.
I believe that today's young generation of reporters will continue the values that Lao Dong Newspaper has built for nearly a century: Always standing on the side of workers, for truth and justice. And I am proud to be a small part of that journey.
