"The bridge" brings information about the facility...

Keeping pace with information

For over a year now, at 6:00 AM, news bulletins have regularly been broadcast on the public address system of Bach Ngoc commune. In the afternoon, at exactly 6:00 PM, the latest information on local policies, activities, and initiatives continues to reach the people.

In addition to maintaining broadcasts on the radio system, daily local activities are recorded, edited, and updated by the cultural and information staff on the commune's media website and digital platforms. Instead of an entire team from the district's Radio and Television Station as before, this work is now handled by just two staff members.Public Service Delivery Centerof Bach Ngoc commune.

In the past, although the local government provided some cameras and video recorders for reporting purposes, the media team still lacked a dedicated workspace. Receiving signals, reading radio news, or handling tasks all had to be done manually, under challenging conditions.

With over 20 years of experience in television, Bui Sy Bac said he is familiar with filming, photography, editing, and news production. However, when the workload that previously worked for many people is now concentrated on one or two staff members, the pressure is much greater.

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Some days I would attend meetings, film, take photos, and then have to write news articles and edit videos to post them the same day. During major events, I would work almost from morning until afternoon, or even into the evening.

Mr. Bui Sy Bac - Public Service Center of Bach Ngoc Commune.

In her new circumstances, her colleague, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen Thuong, formerly a broadcaster at the district's radio and television station, also underwent many changes after taking on her new duties in the commune. Previously, at her old workplace, she mainly handled program hosting and news reading, but now she has become a "multipurpose reporter." From taking photos and videos to writing news, editing content, and updating information on the local electronic portal and digital platforms, she has to learn and do everything herself to meet the new demands.

"We were fortunate because both of us had experience in radio and television, so when we returned to our hometown, we adapted quite quickly to the job. However, the workload was heavier, and one person had to handle many tasks, so we almost always had to proactively manage our time to complete our assignments," Ms. Thuong added.

After the merger, Bach Ngoc commune covers an area of ​​approximately 70 square kilometers, including many semi-mountainous regions. To deliver timely information to the people, the commune has invested in a smart broadcasting system, covering all villages and hamlets, serving propaganda, guidance, and management purposes, as well as providing essential information. Simultaneously, the communication team has also received attention and support, with investments in purchasing machinery and equipment to facilitate their work.

Mr. Nguyen Kim Nam, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Bach Ngoc commune, said: "Despite many financial difficulties, the commune still prioritizes investment in communication work. Because with a large area, if information does not reach us in a timely manner, it will affect the effectiveness of leadership and management as well as the implementation of policies and guidelines at the grassroots level."

In Quy Chau commune, the headquarters of the Public Service Center was formerly the location of the district's radio and television station. After the establishment of the new unit, in addition to communication work, the center also undertakes agricultural services and organizes cultural, artistic, and sports activities. Despite the considerable workload, the center currently lacks a dedicated communication staff member. To maintain regular information updates, the unit has contracted an additional employee to write news articles, manage the commune's fanpage, and upload information to the electronic information portal. Simultaneously, staff from other departments are also assigned to write news, take photos, and provide information according to their respective areas of responsibility.

According to Mr. Nguyen Ke Kien, Director of the Quy Chau Commune Public Service Center, the unit produces an average of 2 to 5 news articles per day, equivalent to the activities of the former district-level unit: "The workload after the merger is greater than before, but we determined that communication work cannot be interrupted. Therefore, in addition to the main staff, all center officials proactively coordinate; whoever is responsible for a particular field monitors, records information, takes photos, and writes news articles in that field. The goal is to ensure that all local activities are updated quickly and accurately so that people can promptly grasp the information.”

Every official is a propagandist.

After the merger, Mau Thach commune has a larger geographical area, with the population distributed across many villages far from the center. In its first year of operation, the locality received investment in a smart broadcasting system, but the coverage currently only reaches about one-third of the villages in the entire commune. The remaining areas still lack the resources to install loudspeakers due to limited investment funds. To overcome this, cultural officials proactively compile propaganda content in text or audio file form and send it to the villages to be broadcast through the existing loudspeaker system. This method, although time-consuming, ensures that information is not interrupted.

According to the commune's calculations, investing in a comprehensive wireless broadcasting system to all villages would require approximately 1.5-2 billion VND. This is a significant amount for a mountainous commune, especially given its limited regular expenditure. The commune is currently proposing targeted programs and seeking various funding sources to gradually improve its basic broadcasting infrastructure.

Besides the lack of equipment, the human resources problem is also a major challenge. After the merger, the commune established a Public Service Center, but it only has three people. Besides the center director, who is in charge of agriculture, the other two previously worked in radio and television broadcasting but were previously responsible for technical matters, making it difficult for them to meet the demands of the new job.

Further elaborating on this, Mr. Tran Cong Hien, Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Department of Mau Thach commune, said that the commune has established a Communication Team with a core group of officials from the Culture and Social Affairs Department, in coordination with officials from various departments of the Party Committee and the People's Committee of the commune. Each official performs their professional duties while also participating in writing news, taking photos, and providing information in their assigned areas for publication on the commune's electronic information portal, fanpage, and other local communication channels.

Thanks to these efforts, despite the hardships, there hasn't been a single day without updated information on the commune's media pages. As a result, the people can easily grasp the policies and guidelines and can interact directly with the local government through social media and other digital platforms.

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Despite the challenging conditions, we determined that we could not allow the dissemination of information to be interrupted. Therefore, instead of relying on a single dedicated officer, the commune mobilized the entire system to participate. Whoever was responsible for a particular area proactively monitored, recorded, wrote news articles, and provided information in that area. This approach both overcame the human resource shortage and ensured that information was updated quickly and closely aligned with the realities at the grassroots level.

Mr. Pham Trong Binh - Secretary of the Party Committee of Mau Thach Commune

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