Collaborators are the extended 'arms' of each press agency.

In many press agencies from central to local levels, the team of loyal collaborators has contributed a lot to innovation and improvement in content quality and form, to meet the increasing needs of readers. Many newspapers have a section dedicated to collaborators, for readers to submit articles.

Usually, contributors come from many different professions, from officers and soldiers in the armed forces to teachers, artists, retirees, students... They are of many ages and from many local regions. Even though they do not work for the newspaper, they have been attached to it and have had many works published, which enriches the content, form and quality of the newspaper.

In fact, the team of collaborators has many advantages, which is that they often have exclusive information and exclusive images that are only available in that locality and specialized field. Collaborators at the grassroots level are people who understand the ins and outs of the issues where they live, with the skills of "hunting for news" and the passion for creating journalistic works like a professional journalist, helping them to have works that are not inferior to those of a journalist or reporter.

Many press agencies have connected and attracted many collaborators from all over the country, including many collaborators who are experts in the fields of economics, society, and international affairs.

At the northernmost point of the country, collaborators can quickly send their reports to Ha Giang Radio and Television Station and press agencies.

The attention to building and developing the network of correspondents has helped the press have many news routes and articles that reflect comprehensively, honestly and promptly in all fields, especially at the time of political events, major holidays of the homeland and country, or when natural disasters, epidemics occur... Many issues of public concern, pressing issues at the grassroots level are vividly reflected by correspondents in publications, making an important contribution to propaganda and information orientation.

Depending on the conditions, qualifications, skills, positions... of each person, the collaborators have certain contributions, contributing to enriching the content, form, and quality of press products. On the contrary, when using the articles of collaborators, press agencies have created an attractive playground for collaborators. The use of collaborators' works shows respect, the "brainchild" is cared for, making collaborators feel more secure in sending their thoughts, wishes, as well as pressing issues and recommendations of the public to the authorities at all levels.

Journalist Nguyen Trung, member of the Executive Committee of the Bac Ninh Provincial Journalists Association, said: "To get many good, hot news articles from the grassroots, editors always interact and exchange regularly, even daily, with collaborators. To maintain a regular source of news and articles, and motivate collaborators, newspaper editors must always be quick to support collaborators. Instruct collaborators on how to process information and images to suit the criteria of their newspaper's columns and pages... Collaborative articles from collaborators help make the information in the newspaper rich in topics and attractive in content and images."

Instead of sending information by post which took days as before, today, collaborators can use free messaging applications, email, hotlines, social networks... to send their products to the editorial office quickly. Therefore, many interesting and interested information from far away places can also be quickly made and posted.

In reality, the current team of collaborators faces many difficulties, because many people do not have professional journalism expertise, filming and photography skills, do not have press cards, letters of introduction, etc. However, many people participate in collaborating with newspaper offices mainly because of their passion for writing and photography. However, thanks to the widespread development of the internet, social networks, as well as the emergence of modern means, collaborators can take advantage of exploring, learning to improve their knowledge and journalism skills.

In the modern press environment, in addition to moral qualities and political ideology, collaborators are required to be dynamic, flexible and enthusiastic. Not only writing skills but also good photography, video and clip recording skills. Collaborators must know how to access, secure and process information on the network as soon as possible according to the requirements of each editorial office.

Delegates attending the 2023 National Collaborators Conference of the Communist Party of Vietnam Electronic Newspaper. Photo: Le Tam

Mr. Nguyen Van Cong (Thuong Tin, Hanoi) has been a contributor for several newspapers for nearly 10 years. During that time, he has gone through many emotions, from sadness when his articles were returned by the editorial office and could not be used, to overwhelming joy when the editorial office approved them and approved them for publication in print and online newspapers. Many of his articles are examples of good people doing good deeds. He hopes that each of his articles will contribute to spreading meaningful actions in the community.

Mr. Nguyen Van Cong confided: “Every time an article is used, I feel extremely honored and proud. I am happy that many readers appreciate the content of the article, love writing, the profession of a contributor, I always promise myself to actively learn and accept the comments and guidance of the editors to improve my skills, try to have better quality articles, meet the requirements of the editorial office as well as the needs of readers”.

It can be said that many collaborators always consider journalism as an interesting profession, where they can immerse themselves in the flow of information and social life, where they can train their enthusiasm and passion, bringing a lot of experience to other jobs.

Through each article, they are trained in writing skills, skills in searching and exploiting topics in life and work. Through each published work, they have more opportunities to introduce their work to friends near and far, thereby promoting the image, traditions of the land and local people to the public.

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/cong-tac-vien-la-canh-tay-noi-dai-cua-moi-co-quan-bao-chi-post272449.html