Retrospecting 2019 Press Awards of provincial Journalists' Association

Leaders of the provincial People's Committee and the provincial Party Committee's Education and Popularization Board grant A prizes of the 2019 Press Awards of the provincial Journalists' Association to authors

Despite a decrease in the number of entries in 2019, there were many good quality works.

Sticking close to news

On every occasion of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21), journalists in the Eastern land nervously wait and expect to be called at the Press Awards of the provincial Journalists' Association.

The 2019 Press Awards honored 21 prize-winning works, each of which was a "brainchild" elaborately invested in by its author.

Most of the prize-winning works this time were highly topical and promptly reflected important events of the locality and the country, including the screening of Party members, the affirmation of the country's sea and island sovereignty, African swine fever, the mergence of administrative units at commune level, the harmfulness of plastic waste, etc.

Apart from those mentioning the downside of society, there were works that reflected typical models winning high prizes. All of these topics drew attention of the public.

Regarding the printed newspaper genre, the series "Review and screening of Party members – requirements from practice" by Thanh Mai, Trung Thu, Hoang Bien, and Ha Vy (Hai Duong Newspaper) won an A prize.

The series stuck close to reality following the spirit of the Secretariat's Directive 28-CT/TW dated January 21, 2019 on improving the quality of Party member admission and reviewing, screening, and excluding ineligible members from the Party.

In the context that 2019 was the year before Party Congress at all levels, the topic was practical, contributing to further clarifying limitations in Party member work.

The work "Armless billionaire" by Ngoc Lan and Van Hong (provincial Radio and Television Station) snatched an A prize in the television genre.

The work depicted the journey and energy of Nguyen Dinh Tuan, a disabled person losing both arms and the left leg, in Cong Hoa ward, Chi Linh city. 

The work highlighted the will and efforts of Tuan, who built up a well-off life admired by many people.

The work was highly appreciated by many viewers, helping spread good deeds to the community.

B prize winning works also left imprints in the heart of the public with contemporary and interesting topics.

There were two works by authors from the Hai Duong Newspaper grabbing B prizes, namely the series "In order not to repeat the African swine fever tragedy" (Ngoc Thuy, Nguyen Mo, Tran Hien, and Ha Kien) and "Truong Sa – a fortress in the middle of the sea" (Hoang Bien).

"Strictly handling excessive actions of unlicensed coaches in Thanh Ha" by Hoang Huy and Dinh Quyen was a television work pocketing a B prize.

Generally assessing the 2019 prize-winning works. Nguyen Thi Hai Van, Chairwoman of the provincial Journalists' Association, Head of the Award Judging Board, said aside from topicality, the quality of most of the entries was fairly good and equal. After grading, there was not much difference in score among the works.

In the printed newspaper genre, most of the winning works were series. This shows that press agencies and reporters invested in creating profound works and paid attention to arranging human resources for implementation.

The reflected issues were thoroughly mentioned with diverse and profound views.

This year, television works were also more deeply invested in by authors.

Fewer works

There were fewer entries this time than many years ago. According to the Award Judging Board, 47 journalistic entries were submitted, down five compared to 2018.

One of the reasons for the decline is that after the implementation of a plan for press development and management, the number of subordinate chapters of the provincial Journalists' Association fell from nine to six (three magazines were changed to newsletters). After shifting, authors of articles in the newsletters did not send entries to the awards.

In addition, authors of articles in the Scientific Research Review of Sao Do University also did not send entries.

For that shortage, the 2019 Press Awards was less diverse in terms of topic compared to several years ago with no monographs about culture, science and technology, labor, trade unions, etc. by authors in the sectors.

There were a few entries in the political commentary style submitted to the 2019 Press Awards. 

Similar to many years ago, most of the entries belonged to members and reporters of the chapters of the Hai Duong Newspaper and the provincial Radio and Television Station. Authors from other chapters rarely participate.

To improve the quality of the awards in the coming years, the key factor is the effort of each journalist himself/herself, according to Nguyen Thi Hai Van.

Authors should stick close to life, timely detect fascinating topics for reflection, and frequently learn and renew their writing and expressing style.

Chapters of the provincial Journalists' Association should work out specific training and retraining plans to improve the professional knowledge of journalists.

Besides, the provincial Journalists' Association should have many forms of encouragement of members to take part in the awards, develop specific and diverse criteria for prize-winning works in the fields of politics, economy, culture, society, etc. to ensure the objectivity and multi-dimensional reflection of the press.

SONG THANH