Publishing and using Party newspapers: Inspection plays a key role.

(Baonghean) - As a district highly regarded for its distribution and use of the Party newspaper, despite having many information channels reaching the people, officials, and leaders of Quynh Luu district, the Party newspaper remains the most reliable source.

Mr. Nguyen Van Quy, Head of the Propaganda Department of the Quynh Luu District Party Committee, said: "The Propaganda Department has advised the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee to issue a directive to the grassroots level to seriously implement the directives of the Central Committee and the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee. The district post office regularly updates the data on the purchase and use of Party newspapers in the area. For units that do not subscribe or reduce the number of copies distributed, we send reminder letters and include them in the criteria for evaluating emulation achievements."



Using the Party newspaper at the Yen Khe - Ha Huy Tap Party branch. Photo: Phan Van Toan.

Therefore, the coverage of Party newspapers in Quynh Luu district is relatively stable, with nearly 100% of Party branches receiving the Nghe An newspaper... However, not all districts in our province are doing a good job of inspection and supervision to improve the effectiveness of distributing and using Party newspapers. Most districts with modest Party newspaper distribution indices are more or less related to the coordination between the Post Office, the Propaganda Department, and the subordinate Party committees and branches. In addition, the neglect of reading culture and the difficult living conditions of postal workers also significantly affect the quality of distribution and service to readers.

Mr. Ngo Xuan Binh, Director of Hung Nguyen District Post Office, stated: "Currently, many people are moving away from reading culture, and the circulation of Party newspapers in Hung Nguyen is becoming saturated and declining. Hung Nguyen has 22 postal workers serving to deliver letters, newspapers, and documents to the 23 communes and towns, most of whom are on seasonal contracts with meager allowances, so they are not very enthusiastic about the job."

The provincial post office's complete cut of commission payments for public service newspapers and reduction of commissions for other types of newspapers has caused considerable difficulties for postal workers and postal carriers. With an average travel distance of 10km per day per postal carrier delivering mail and newspapers, they only receive around 600,000 VND per month – a meager amount that discourages many from delivering mail and newspapers. This is a common challenge for postal carriers in all districts of the province.

It is noteworthy that while the dissemination of information was done very well and systematically, and the conference on the distribution and use of the Party newspaper was implemented on a large scale, the supervision was lax. The Chairman of the Education Union in Nam Dan district and the Vice Chairman of the Union in Hung Nguyen district did not have statistics on which school Party branches had or lacked the Party newspaper, even though they always stated that purchasing and using the Party newspaper was always the top priority among current newspapers and magazines. In Hung Nguyen, one commune stopped purchasing over 10 issues of the Party newspaper (Nghe An Newspaper) from the second quarter of 2012, but the Party Secretary of the commune was also unaware. Only when the person in charge of ordering and using the Party newspaper directly called did the reporter get the final accurate conclusion: the unit had stopped purchasing and promised to resume ordering in the following quarter.

Financial constraints are also a barrier to purchasing and using Party newspapers. Mr. Hoang Van Phi, Secretary of the Hung Nguyen District Party Committee, stated: The local budget includes funds allocated for purchasing newspapers, magazines, and documents to support Party work. While there is no misuse of funds in Hung Nguyen, some units, due to the small number of Party members, have limited funds available for purchasing and using Party newspapers.

This has led to some units facing difficulties in purchasing and using the Party newspaper. Mr. Phi added: "In the coming time, we will continue to vigorously address the issue of purchasing and using the Party newspaper, prioritizing its distribution to Party branches. The purchase and use of the Party newspaper in Hung Nguyen has long lacked good coordination between the District Party Committee, the District Propaganda Department, and the district post office. We will regularly inspect, supplement, and direct the process, incorporating it into the emulation criteria to ensure that the Party newspaper reaches all Party branches."

The distribution and use of Party newspapers in localities need to be more closely monitored and supervised by Party committees and authorities at all levels, avoiding superficiality. District Party committees and district Party Propaganda Departments must be truly thorough in their inspection and supervision to ensure that the distribution and use of Party newspapers are effective in bringing the Party's policies and guidelines into life.

Vo Van Dung