Anti-negative press

Negative phenomena exist in all times and in all parts of society, it is just big or small, serious or not serious, little or much. It is like the law of nature and society about the unity of opposites: yin - yang, good - bad, good - evil, white - black, hot - cold...

In the early years of the country's renovation, there were articles by "big guys" in fighting against negativity. For example, two "elders" of the renovation period were the late General Secretary of the Party Central Committee Nguyen Van Linh and the late Permanent Secretary of the Secretariat Dao Duy Tung, who for a relatively long time were assigned by the Party to be in charge of ideological and theoretical work.

Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairman of the City People's Council Nguyen Ngoc Tuan and leaders of several departments and branches of Hanoi visited and congratulated Kinh te & Do thi Newspaper on the occasion of the 98th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day, 2023. Photo: Thanh Hai

The late General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh was one of the most famous phenomena with articles under the pen name NVL published in the "Things to do immediately" section of Nhan Dan newspaper in the late 80s of the last century (31 articles, published from May 25, 1987 to September 28, 1990).

Around this pen name, at first many people guessed that NVL was the abbreviation of “Nguyen Van Linh”; some people “speculated” and “agreed” that NVL was “Speak and Do”; and many others thought that it was “Jump into the Fire”, because those articles touched on fighting negativity, which meant touching on burning fires.

Those articles really caused a big stir at that time. Before that and at the same time, in the literary and artistic world, there was also a saying by comrade Nguyen Van Linh: “Untie yourself before God saves you”. That saying was not as impressive as the articles by author NVL.

At this time, Nhan Dan newspaper was “scored” for its appeal. Why? Because comrade Nguyen Van Linh had soon seen the diseases of corruption, waste, and bureaucracy that were hindering the renovation process that was rushing forward.

Comrade Nguyen Van Linh's pen has created a new vitality in society: fighting negativity; democracy, openness, speaking clearly, speaking frankly, speaking the truth; encouraging the press to strongly participate in fighting negativity.

The effect of the articles by author NVL has sent a message to the Vietnamese revolutionary press: must have courage, dare to speak frankly, speak the truth; the style of expression must be concise, easy to understand, attractive; the press must be a forum to express the people's aspirations; journalists must be honest, dedicated to their profession, must be upright, love what is right, what is good, and kindness; hate what is wrong, what is bad, and evil.

Those articles inspired the Vietnamese revolutionary press to venture into this difficult field.

Now, on the occasion of the 99th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 2024), looking back at the articles of the late General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh, we can see the journalistic style of the master revolutionary journalist Ho Chi Minh in three key points: the article must be concise; provide necessary and complete information according to the topic; write to attract readers.

The guarantee of the newspaper's principles and purposes is there, nowhere else! It is never allowed to be commercialized, only allowed to write things that benefit the country and the people.

Comrade Nguyen Van Linh learned from Uncle Ho those three things - very simple things but with very high requirements, sometimes becoming a "difficult problem" for many current journalists who may not be able to learn their lessons even after a lifetime of studying if their hearts are not pure, they do not have the will, they do not have the courage, they are negative, they chase after money and are ready to bend their pens.

Comrade Dao Duy Tung’s case is different. The difference is in the way of expression compared to Comrade Nguyen Van Linh. One side writes for newspapers, the other side writes “wills”. Comrade Dao Duy Tung is not only a magazine writer, but also a manager on the ideological and theoretical front.

On the ideological front, Comrade Dao Duy Tung has a lot of experience and has made great contributions. Comrade Dao Duy Tung has held the positions of Deputy Director, Director of the Training Department of the Central Party Propaganda Department, Deputy Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Study Magazine (now the Communist Magazine), Director of the Marxist-Leninist Institute and Head of the Central Propaganda Department.

Comrade Dao Duy Tung was elected to the Party Central Committee for four consecutive terms (the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Congresses), in which he was elected as a member of the Politburo and Secretary of the Party Central Committee for two terms. These are the positions that define the responsibilities of Comrade Dao Duy Tung, expressed in his political articles that are coherent, logical, and emotional, meaning convincing to readers, especially readers who specialize in ideological and theoretical work throughout the country.

During 30 years of ideological and theoretical activities, comrade Dao Duy Tung has proven to be a sharp writer in the field of journalism; at the same time, in his working position, he always pays attention to the leadership of the Party, the management of the State and all levels of government in the field of journalism, takes care of the lives as well as creates all possible conditions for the team of ideological, theoretical and journalistic cadres to work.

Comrade Dao Duy Tung's journalism career was based on grasping practical issues in a timely manner, meeting the requirements of the renovation process. Partial renovations, "fence-breaking" actions of grassroots levels, and opinions that are not listened to, not surveyed, researched, and summarized cannot have correct policies and guidelines.

Information from practice is extremely valuable material for building policies, therefore, comrade Dao Duy Tung established specialized units to do information and press work in Party committees, diversifying information, expanding publicity, focusing on honesty, responsiveness, bringing the voice of the people and the reality of life into the leadership and management activities of the country's political system.

Comrade Dao Duy Tung's magazine articles have provided scientific and practical basis for perfecting the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws, contributing to concretizing, supplementing and developing our country's path to socialism.

Along with praising the good, comrade Dao Duy Tung also attached importance to using the press to criticize evil, bad things, corruption, bureaucracy; criticize those with dark intentions, those who spread skeptical arguments, distort history, distort the Party and State's guidelines and policies.

The press not only reflects social reality, but also has the responsibility to properly orient public opinion before each domestic and international event and issue.

According to comrade Dao Duy Tung, journalists (both managers and writers) must have a simple, approachable, honest, and modest style; must be imbued with the principled viewpoint of innovation; must know how to listen, respect those they are talking to, encourage discussion to find the truth; and be vigilant against evil forces that take advantage of democracy and political opportunities.

Therefore, we must resolutely and persistently fight against all manifestations of political opportunism and against forces that betray the revolutionary cause of the Party and the People.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/bao-chi-chong-tieu-cuc-ban-linh-sac-ben.html