Is the information base "battlefield" being left empty?

(Baonghean) -Currently, the whole province has 445/480 communes and wards (reaching 92.7%) with grassroots radio systems. However, there are more than 150 stations that are completely broken, over 200 stations operate "intermittently". The rate of people, especially those in remote areas, having access to books and newspapers is extremely low.

The highlands are "hungry" for information.

Leading me into a room temporarily used as a warehouse, the cultural worker of Yen Tinh commune (Tuong Duong) lifted a broken chair aside and pointed to a cube-shaped object hidden next to a pile of yellowed books and papers: "The radio equipment is broken so it's temporarily stored here." He smiled when I asked about the officer in charge of the radio station: "There used to be one, but when the station went down, the commune transferred him to another job."

Mr. Lam Viet Minh - Vice Chairman of Yen Tinh Commune People's Committee said: Information in this commune is facing great difficulties. The whole commune has 9 villages but only 2 villages in the center have 2 usable loudspeaker clusters, 4 villages do not have electricity. That is not to mention the press, the commune has up to 14, 15 newspapers and magazines, both purchased and provided, but to bring them to villages like Na Cang, 17 kilometers away from the committee headquarters by forest road, in time is difficult. Whether anyone reads the newspaper or not is another issue. In Tuong Duong alone, there are communes like Huu Khuong, Nhon Mai, Mon Son that do not have car roads to the center, do not have electricity, so the press only comes to the commune once or twice a week.

Party newspaper reaches prestigious people in mountainous areas where there is a surplus and where there is a shortage.
(In the photo: Mr. Luong - a prestigious person in Cooc village, Yen Hoa commune, Tuong Duong district, receives the newspaper twice a month, sometimes up to 4 copies). Photo: V.Đ

Unlike the situation of shelving equipment like in Yen Tinh commune of Tuong Duong, the situation of the radio station in Lang Son commune (Anh Son district) is different. Mr. Truong Ba Hoan, head of the commune's cultural committee, said: Just one strong lightning strike is enough to burn out the broadcasting equipment in half of the hamlets in the commune. Each repair costs about several hundred thousand dong. Some hamlets wait months before taking it in for repair.

According to the expert of Anh Son Cultural Department, 21/21 communes and towns in this district have wireless radio stations, but currently 6 communes have broken equipment and have become "blank spots" for broadcasting. In Tuong Duong district, currently 3 communes, Tam Thai, Yen Na, Nga My, have received 3 television and radio stations, 14 communes have radio stations, up to 122/153 villages of the district have loudspeaker clusters, but up to now, that number is not necessarily accurate, as in the case of Yen Tinh commune mentioned above.

According to a recent survey by the Department of Information and Communications, the province has 445/480 communes and wards (92.7%) with grassroots radio systems. However, more than 150 stations are completely broken, and over 200 stations are operating erratically. In districts such as Con Cuong, Quy Hop, and Quy Chau, nearly 3/4 of the stations have to be put in storage. According to the authorities, the current radio equipment at the grassroots level is invested in many different programs. Some equipment was invested 15, 17 years ago, so damage is understandable.

In addition to the activities of the local radio stations, a form that the locals call “listening without waking up” is television, which is popular with people in all regions. According to a cultural officer of Tuong Duong, 95% of the district listens to the radio and 85% watches television. If that is true, it is indeed a good thing. However, according to our observations when passing through the communes of Yen Na, Yen Tinh, and Luu Kien, the vast majority of households with televisions receive images via dish antennas. However, most of them use illegal dishes, so they cannot receive channels of Nghe An Television Station or television relay stations in the area. When watching television, people mainly “open” cultural and entertainment programs. It is known that in mountainous districts, especially highland districts, there is a similar situation.

Commune radio stations are the main means of transmitting information to the people, let alone newspapers and magazines. Currently in Tuong Duong and remote districts such as Ky Son and Con Cuong, most villages, hamlets and commune-affiliated units, in addition to the two party newspapers Nhan Dan and Nghe An, have 15 other industry and union newspapers and magazines. However, except for village leaders and commune departments and branches, the villagers, for many reasons, do not have access to this type of information.

Not to mention that in the Anh Son Cultural Office there is a cabinet containing dozens of books such as “Bahnar KRIEM – Bahnar Kondeh Epic” of Lao Dong Publishing House, which is almost as thick as a finger joint, and “Ha Giang Folklore” of Thanh Nien Publishing House, which is twice as thick, with 1,155 pages! “Festivals of the Cham and Ede People” also has 500 pages… When asked, we found out that these were books brought back by a central-level project for the Thai people here to read. Just looking at the book titles and their “huge” thickness, I’m afraid people wouldn’t even look at them, let alone read them.

The above situation leads to the dissemination of policies and other information, the grassroots must rely on reporters, propagandists, industry officials, unions and key village and hamlet officials. However, not all people attend meetings and the level of absorption also depends on the information transmission capacity of the propagandists.

Loudspeaker cluster in Na Khom village, Yen Na commune (Tuong Duong)

Starting from the staff

Mr. Nguyen Van Quan, a reporter from Thanh Thinh commune (Thanh Chuong) is a person who is passionate about his work. According to him, if he speaks like he did in the past, it will be difficult for listeners to understand; because every house has a television; if necessary, they can go to the cafe and go online. Therefore, to prevent party members and people from falling asleep during the "listening to news" session where he is a speaker, he spends time reading newspapers, listening to the radio, watching TV, and especially internal news of the province and district, then contacting local reality to update his knowledge. As for "speaking skills", there is no need to discuss, many people say that if Mr. Quan speaks, even ants in their holes will come out to listen.

As for the station chief of Yen Na commune (Tuong Duong), Mr. Lo Mai Hang, with a degree from Nghe An Radio and Television School, is a truly versatile employee. Apart from his current position as vice president of the association for the promotion of education, he spends most of his time writing news, editing, organizing programs and also acting as a radio announcer. Every week, Hang regularly makes a program consisting of 5 news items, 1 radio report and 1 example of a “good person doing good deeds” or “real person doing real deeds”. Once, Mr. Lo Van Thanh in Na Khom village asked to “go on the radio” to promise to quit drinking. As for Mr. Vi Van Tuyen in Co Phao village, after reading newspapers and listening to the radio, he built a barn to raise porcupines and pigs so that each year he can sell nearly a ton of live pigs and 2 litters of porcupines.

However, the number of reporters, propagandists and officers in charge of radio stations at the grassroots level like Mr. Quan in Thanh Thinh and Mr. Hang in Yen Na is not much, especially in mountainous communes, remote areas.

If anyone thinks that in the current era of information “explosion”, word of mouth propaganda has no place to “use”, they are very wrong. In this “@ era”, word of mouth propaganda is more necessary than ever. It is the best way to orient public opinion in the chaotic and even harmful information flows released from unofficial sources today. On the other hand, it also contributes to raising awareness of politics, society, law and other fields for cadres, party members and people at the grassroots level. The reality in two remote communes of Yen Na, Yen Tinh (Tuong Duong) and lowland communes such as Lang Son (Anh Son), Thanh Thinh (Thanh Chuong) shows that wherever information and communication work is done well, there is solidarity and consensus among cadres and people in all matters, socio-economic development and vice versa!

Currently, at the commune level, there is at least one reporter and 5-7 propagandists for each field, and if there is a radio station, there is at least 1 person in charge. The whole province has 480 communes, so if multiplied, the information team at the grassroots level of our province is indeed strong in quantity. However, it can be affirmed that the quality of this team is not commensurate with the requirements, the number of reporters and propagandists with the ability to persuade and have a deep understanding in all fields is very small.

It is known that before implementing the Program "Bringing information to the grassroots" (2012), the whole province from district to commune level had only 20.13% of information officers trained in professional skills in information and communication, 12.2% of officers trained in technical exploitation of machinery and equipment and 28.3% trained in computer knowledge. The quality of the information team like that has led to more and more "blank spots" in grassroots radio stations, the effectiveness of other types of information such as books, newspapers, and oral propaganda in many places is weak and many people are "blind" to information, which is not difficult to understand.

Strengthening information dissemination to the grassroots

The program "Bringing information to mountainous, remote, border and island areas" (abbreviated as "Program to bring information to the grassroots" chaired by the Ministry of Information and Communications) is one of 15 national target programs issued by the Prime Minister on November 20, 2012.

This is a major policy of our Party and State to shorten the gap in information enjoyment, improve the cultural and spiritual life of the people, especially those in remote areas. The program includes 3 projects, which are enhancing the capacity of grassroots information and communication staff; strengthening the material facilities for the information and communication system and enhancing the content of information and communication. It is known that out of more than 12,600 communes nationwide, 265 communes in 18 districts of Nghe An benefit from this program.

According to experts from the Department of Information and Communications, up to now, our province has surveyed and gradually implemented this program at the grassroots level. Accordingly, 4 training courses have been organized for 30% of information and communications officers in 165 communes; 2 radio and television rebroadcast stations have been completed in Nga My commune (Tuong Duong) and Chau Thon (Que Phong), radio stations have been installed in 7 communes in Nghia Dan, Dien Chau, Thanh Chuong, Anh Son districts, listening and viewing equipment has been installed in 12 villages of 3 districts Ky Son, Tuong Duong and Que Phong, along with some working tools for grassroots information officers in Que Phong.

On the other hand, 470,400 books with content covering many fields suitable for people in rural and remote areas have also been delivered to post offices - commune culture points and 20 border posts.

Because the Program has only been implemented for half of the planned time (2011-2015), it is not possible to say much about its effectiveness. However, through research, if the 3 projects of the Program are implemented by the authorities in a systematic, scientific manner, with equipment and content that conveys information to the grassroots in accordance with reality, it will certainly "cover" the gaps on the current information front at the grassroots level. Otherwise, the results of those 3 projects will be a repeat of previous projects to enhance information and culture for mountainous and highland communes, which is inevitable. And the official information front at the grassroots level will continue to be left open?

Article and photos: Viet Long