Grassroots radio effectiveness

(Baonghean) - Although he has only been in charge of information for Yen Thanh Town for 2 years, Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuy has quite a lot of experience.

All information is "processed" and read by him alone. Looking around, the "sound" room of the "3-in-1" person (who is the station manager, editor, announcer and news writer) has nothing but a transmitter, a very old CD player and a microphone. However, every day at 5:30 p.m., on all the town's loudspeaker systems, people begin to hear his voice "Hello, folks and friends...". The program lasts from 30 to 45 minutes, 7 days a week. In addition to the program relayed from the provincial and district radio stations, there are the latest announcements from the local government and other units in the district. The news content can be about agricultural production, dissemination or legal information, cultural and social activities...

Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuy is preparing to read the afternoon radio news.

Yen Thanh town has 8 blocks and hamlets with 5,200 people/1,171 households spread over 252 hectares. In 2009, the local government invested a total of nearly 150 million VND for 8 clusters with 24 loudspeakers, 5 km of lines and auxiliary equipment. Over time, the above system has degraded a lot and many information components are still missing. There is still no sound mixer, recorder, or computer, so there are no conditions to produce a radio program of about 15-20 minutes. Even the opening theme song cannot be performed because the disc player sometimes runs, sometimes "rests on its own". In addition, because the old wireless broadcasting system is degraded, it often breaks down. Each time like that, Mr. Thuy has to ask the district radio station staff to remove it and bring it to Vinh city for temporary repair.

These are common difficulties, and the people directly involved also have their own concerns. According to a recent training program in the district on information work, each locality usually needs 3 people to handle the work, while here he is the only one directly responsible. Mr. Thuy only receives an allowance of 0.6 (about 700 thousand VND/month). Therefore, he has to open an additional barber shop after hours to ensure his life. He confided: "Many times I want to write a lot and write really well about my homeland. I have to lie awake at night thinking about it, but unfortunately there is no royalties yet, and I have to worry about my children's education, so I have to accept that sometimes my program is not really good...".

However, information from the "radio" is still of interest to the people, enthusiastically received because it is directly related to daily life. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen Xuan Dung - Nguyen Thi Phuong in Bac Phu block has resolutely implemented family planning, stopping at only 2 children because they heard the effective propaganda on the loudspeaker. Or like Mr. Phan Van Tu, Phuc Trung hamlet, over 60 years old, has joined his children and grandchildren to work on a farm, raising pigs, chickens and ducks with a good income thanks to listening to the announcements, preferential policies and encouragement that the "home radio" regularly reads every day. As Mr. Phan Doan Huu - Chairman of the Town People's Committee, commented: "The town's information department has done a good job, directly and fully informing the people about all important contents. The locality is also very interested and creates favorable conditions. All information is approved by the Vice Chairman in charge of culture - society or related departments. Thanks to timely information on policies and guidelines, the growth rate of the town in the first 6 months of the year is estimated at 14.92%, summer-autumn rice output reaches 60 - 65 quintals/ha, average income reaches over 18 million VND/person/year". Those are good signs, a warmth for people who do quiet work like Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuy.

Cong Manh