Worry about "writing contest entries"

(Baonghean) -There are quite a few journalists in my area. Some are working, some are retired. But this “retired but not retired” profession binds us together by “professional blood”, especially when the anniversary of “our day” June 21 is approaching, or when the annual press awards are approaching.

Just the other day, at a reunion, Mr. X - a veteran journalist, sat down at the tea table and raised the issue:

-Mr. N, I just visited my colleagues at my old office and heard some young people say, “This guy has to rush to find a topic to write an article for a contest.” I found it a bit strange. Why is there a type of article just for contests? How is it different from articles that are not for contests?

Hearing Mr. X's question, Mr. N, the host of today's tea party, a former leader of a local TV station, a station that has won many awards in regional and national competitions, immediately answered:

-Mr. X, that situation is real. When we were still working, we also worried a lot. At a local station, there are many things to do, but the most worrying and the biggest investment is still the "competition works". Because there are competitions every year, the genres are wide but almost only focus on pressing issues, especially fighting negativity. Do you see new issues in propaganda life all year round but rarely do they win awards? Our press keeps saying that in propaganda, praising new factors is the word of morality, but if you look at the winning entries in annual competitions in print, radio, and television, how many entries about new factors get awards. Therefore, when you say you are worried about "writing competition articles" or "making competition films", it is not wrong, because you have to find a topic that is "suitable to your taste".

The discussion of veteran journalists suddenly became quiet. Who is not interested in fighting negativity and corruption? Who does not know that journalists who investigate and write articles against corruption are very elaborate, dangerous, and sometimes their lives are threatened. But it is not easy for journalists to tackle new issues and praise new factors (except for those who, for personal gain, flatter them in a disguised advertising style). But in journalism competitions at the local level as well as at the central level, there are times when there is still a heavy emphasis on certain areas and topics, especially fighting negativity, so there is a tendency to "write articles for the contest", "make reports and investigate television for the contest".

To make the “professional tea party” happy again, Uncle N raised his cup of tea instead of wine in laughter: “Okay, our day is coming soon”, we discussed a few things. We all hope that journalists, whether they are in office or “retired but not yet retired”, will enter life according to the goals set by the Party and the State. We believe that good news articles, good reports that are welcomed by the masses, even if they do not win prizes, are not recognized or rewarded in competitions, will be awarded “in the hearts of the public”.

Nhi Thanh