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(Baonghean)The atmosphere at the Nghe An Newspaper's press center for collaborators was warm and welcoming, dispelling the biting cold of the year-end. The 100 collaborators participating in this conference were the most outstanding individuals, those who had made significant contributions to the innovation and improvement of the quality of the provincial Party newspaper over the past year...

Although it was an annual meeting, the invited attendees were still filled with renewed joy at this contributors' and publishers' conference. Some, like contributors Cao Duy Thai, Sam Van Binh, Thai Tam, Dinh Hien, and Le Hoai Thung, were so afraid of missing the meeting that they took a bus back to Vinh the day before and spent the night chatting and reminiscing. For them, attending this conference was not only about exchanging ideas, discussing, and contributing to the development of the provincial Party newspaper, but also an opportunity to meet, socialize, and further exchange professional knowledge; their thoughts, feelings, and concerns about news reporting and contributor work were shared. In 2012 alone, the most discussed issue was the innovation in content and presentation of the Nghe An newspaper – factors that significantly contributed to the newspaper's circulation increase to 127%, with a print run of approximately 14,000 copies per issue.



Overview of the conference.

Delegate Truong Cong Anh – a veteran contributor and someone who has followed the newspaper's development for over thirty years – delivered the opening remarks at the conference. According to him, 2012 was truly a year of "innovation" for the newspaper. The innovation wasn't just about "improving the format and making the page organization more logical," but more importantly, it transformed Nghe An Newspaper into a highly combative and critical party newspaper through a series of investigative reports on thorny issues of life that attracted widespread public attention, such as the corruption of some officials at the Nghe An Market Management Department, deforestation and the complicity of forest rangers, and the falsification of documents to receive benefits for victims of Agent Orange... Contributor Lang Manh Hung (Que Phong) added that Nghe An Newspaper is increasingly meeting the demands of a wide readership, reaching even the most remote and rural communities.

For the people in the mountainous regions, the Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas section is an indispensable source of spiritual nourishment, especially this year with many innovations and the addition of sections such as "What the People Say," "Preserving Ancient Heritage," and "Shining Examples from the Villages and Communes." The "demanding" contributor, Ha Van Tai, often described by the Nghe An Newspaper Editorial Board as a diligent "fault picker," also expressed his enthusiasm for the positive changes. He considered it "an extremely great effort and remarkable progress." This change was even more evident in 2013 when the newspaper increased from 6 to 8 pages and was published every day of the week.

These results, in addition to the efforts of the leadership, staff, and reporters in the editorial office, also owe a great deal to the role of our contributors – Comrade Phan Van Toan, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper, stated at the conference. This is clearly evident when examining the issues of Nghe An Newspaper over the past year, as never before has such a large number of contributor articles been used in a single year, with nearly 8,000 articles published (accounting for 70% of submitted articles).

In particular, in 2012, Nghe An Newspaper introduced many innovations in nurturing and rewarding its contributors, such as making phone calls, writing invitation letters, and giving monthly rewards for good articles. The "Golden Moment" photojournalism contest, which has now become an annual award of Nghe An Newspaper, is also an attractive and beneficial platform for many photo contributors. Many contributors, even in the first season, had many photos selected for the final round and won high awards, such as Tran Canh Yen and Xuan Nhuong.

2012 was also the year that Nghe An Newspaper attracted a large number of contributors, nearly 400 people, including young people like Le Thuc Anh (pen name Hai Trieu), Nhat Minh, and Le Xuan. Veteran journalists with many years of experience, such as Tran Hong Co, Viet Long, Minh Thu, Quang Long, and Hoang Hao, also became special contributors, regularly providing news articles and timely feedback to the newspaper. Speaking about this special work, journalist Tran Hong Co shared: "After retiring and returning to normal life, only then did I realize the difficulties and the extraordinary efforts of the contributors. A newspaper that wants to develop needs to pay extreme attention to this team because they are the ones who provide the earliest and most timely information."

For Nghe An Newspaper, contributor Nguyen Trong Ha is a clear example. With his dedication to journalism and responsibility to the people, he provided the editorial office with much important information last year, helping the newspaper complete several long-running special features and reports that contributed to benefiting dozens of households. Contributor Le Thuc Anh took advantage of her holiday in France to attend this conference. Far from home, she couldn't regularly follow the print version of Nghe An Newspaper, but thanks to the online version, this young contributor learned more about her hometown. And perhaps that's what motivates her to write articles and contribute, even though "I only have two hours in the evening each day to read and write. The more I write about my hometown, the more I long to finish my studies so I can return home and contribute to my country."

Appreciating the efforts of the team of contributors, Comrade Pham Thi Hong Toan - Editor-in-Chief - also noted that in 2013, Nghe An Newspaper needs to strive even harder in the spirit of the frank suggestions that the contributors have submitted at this conference. This includes gradually reducing articles that merely follow reports, one-sided articles, and general articles that are not close to reality. The newspaper will also delve deeper into investigative journalism, combating corruption and negative practices, increasing the number of articles on Party building, and opening more sections to strengthen the voice of the people.

My Ha