Attending the discussion and chairing the final round were Mr. Le Quoc Minh, member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, President of the Vietnam Journalists Association - Chairman of the Final Round Council; members of the Organizing Committee, members of the Final Round Council and representatives of central and local news agencies and newspapers.

Scene of the meeting of the Final Jury of the 2nd National Press Award for the Development of Culture, Sports and Tourism. (Source: Organizing Committee)

According to the Organizing Committee's report, since its launch, the Award has received positive responses from press agencies, reporters, and members of the Vietnam Journalists Association nationwide.

Editor-in-Chief of Van Hoa Newspaper Nguyen Anh Vu, Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee of the Award, said that by the end of the submission date (June 20, 2024 according to the postmark), the Organizing Committee had received a total of 920 entries.

After that, the Secretariat-Synthesis Subcommittee reviewed, screened and eliminated 26 works that violated the Award Rules.

On July 15, the Preliminary Council consisting of 5 sub-committees: Print Newspaper, Electronic Newspaper, Radio, Television and Photo Newspaper evaluated 894 valid works.

The structure of the number of works selected for the final round by type is as follows: Print newspapers select 25 works; Electronic newspapers select 25 works; Radio select 22 works; Television select 25 works; Press photos select 20 works.

Taking place from July 15-24, based on the Judging Regulations, the Preliminary Council subcommittees conducted independent, objective, transparent assessments and focused, thorough, and impartial discussions to select the most outstanding press works for the final round.

After 10 days of reviewing, discussing and scoring the works, the Preliminary Council selected 119 best works to present to the Final Council, distributed according to press types: Print newspapers selected 27 works; Electronic newspapers selected 26 works; Radio selected 22 works; Television selected 25 works; Photojournalism selected 19 works.

The preliminary results are compiled by the Secretariat, fully completed and sent to the members of the Final Jury early, creating better conditions for the Final Jury to research and evaluate the works.

Regarding the entries for this season's competition, Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association and Chairman of the Final Jury Le Quoc Minh said that the themes are diverse and inclusive; reflecting the orientations and policies of the Party and State in cultural development.

The articles cover everything from macro issues to issues in daily cultural life, cultural activities, events, sports and tourism. Many articles are suggestive in nature.

This year, the participation of local press agencies is also stronger. Many entries from local press agencies are considered to be in-depth, especially in the fields of radio and television. This year's award even attracted the participation of district-level press agencies.

Journalist Do Thi Thu Hang, member of the Standing Committee, Head of the Professional Committee of the Vietnam Journalists Association, Permanent Vice President of the Preliminary Council, commented: "The works all closely follow major themes, vividly reflecting important events of 2023 - 2024 in the fields of culture, sports, tourism and family".

Some prominent topics that many groups of authors are interested in and exploit include: The issue of developing Vietnam's cultural industry in the new situation; The issue of protecting the Party's ideological foundation in the field of culture and art; The current situation of Vietnam's sports and tourism industry in the post-Covid-19 period...

Ms. Do Thi Thu Hang said: "The articles analyze specific contents in depth, highlighting the current situation, difficulties, opportunities and challenges in preserving and developing the fields of culture, sports and tourism."

Photojournalistic works participating in the Award. (Source: Organizing Committee)

At the meeting, the subcommittees of the Preliminary Council proposed and recommended that the Organizing Committee should take specific measures to encourage reporters and journalists to create works on family, children and sports topics, in order to balance the cultural field with the remaining fields.

In addition, it is necessary to strengthen communication about the award content to press agencies and journalists' associations at all levels, especially in the Central Highlands and Central Vietnam regions, to encourage submission of entries for the following seasons.