Keeping the news flowing amid storms and epidemics

Facing natural disasters

Nearly 10 years have passed, surely many people have not forgotten the heavy rains that covered the sky and earth, widespread and lasting in the province from July 25, 2015 to August 5, 2015. At that time, for the first time in history, people witnessed the most horrifying scenes of floods right where they lived. The statistics of the damage caused by this flood startled many people.

However, during the torrential rains, mudslides, at key points of flooding, landslides, flash floods, etc., the team of journalists, reporters, and editors were all present quickly, urgently, and promptly to reflect information about the devastating consequences, difficulties, and losses of the people, as well as the efforts of the Party Committee, government, and units and forces in rescue, care for the people, overcoming natural disasters, and even the miraculous revival.

Reporter Thanh Hang, Special Topics Department, Provincial Media Center, recalls: 14 years of working in journalism have not only given me experience, lessons, but also unforgettable memories. I still remember from late July to early August 20215, Quang Ninh had to face a historic flood. At that time, I was a reporter for the Economic Department, Quang Ninh Newspaper. During those days, all staff and reporters had to be on duty at the agency to work directly in areas affected by floods under the direction of the agency and department leaders. My colleague and I were assigned by the leaders to report on the efforts of the people in overcoming the flood in Ha Phong ward, Ha Long city. After many days of heavy rain, the water had receded, but the roads in Ha Phong ward were still flooded with mud, some places were up to the middle of the shins. On an old motorbike, my colleague and I slipped and fell flat on our faces when entering area 2A. From head to toe, we were covered in thick black mud. Without hesitation, we quickly stood up, shook off the mud on our shirts, and continued on our way - to deliver the fastest and most authentic information to our readers. The floods left behind a lot of damage, making people's lives extremely difficult. However, in the midst of that hardship, we still realized lessons imbued with humanity - from seemingly simple actions: Officers and soldiers supported people in dredging mud, villagers together moved their belongings to higher ground, and shoveled dirt and rocks out of their houses to quickly stabilize their lives. Sometimes it was just carrying buckets of clean water together, or sharing simple meals, eating vegetables with vegetables, eating porridge with porridge, but imbued with the spirit of compatriots.

Not afraid of difficulties, hardships, or hardships, journalists braved the rain, waded through mud, and went to flooded areas and landslides to bring readers the latest information. And it is the works that reflect reality, breathe life, and are full of humanity that have brought the journalists noble awards. This is not only a recognition of the efforts of journalists but also an affirmation of the influence of their works.

Sharing about the process of making the reportage "Warm Fire in the Rain" - the work that won the Gold Prize at the 2015 National Television Festival, journalist Thu Giang (Head of Radio Editorial Department, Provincial Media Center) said: The historic rain and flood in July 2015 left Quang Ninh devastated. At that time, our colleagues had many reports, news, and articles reflecting the severity of the rain and flood; the timely support of the Party Committee, the government and philanthropists; the rapid stabilization of people's lives... And the more difficult, dangerous, and unfortunate times are, the more strongly the humanity and spirit of "Discipline and Unity" of the miners are demonstrated. Therefore, we chose to make the work not only to clarify the humanity of the Mining Region, but also to convey the message that anything, when there is unity, solidarity, and unanimity of the Party Committee, the government, the people and the entire political system, will surely turn defeat into victory. We spent a month post-producing the work to be able to string together each story into a message to convey to the audience. The work is also a way to encourage and motivate the people and deeply express gratitude to the Party Committee, government and benefactors.

Not only the historic flood, Typhoon No. 3 Yagi made landfall in Quang Ninh and several northern provinces and cities in September 2025 with heavy devastation, leaving behind unprecedented human and property losses. In the midst of the dangerous natural disaster, together with the functional forces, the Quang Ninh journalism team made efforts to "brave the storm, turn away from the rain" and rush into dangerous places, working day and night, promptly reporting information to the people.

With the mindset of "going first and coming last" for the purpose of maintaining a continuous flow of information, journalists bravely, regardless of hardship, rushed into the battle with the storm. The fastest news, the most vivid images, the most authentic voices from localities were delivered to people inside and outside the province thanks to the brave, professional and dedicated working teams. Each time information was updated, it was a race against time, proactively and flexibly responding to the situation to quickly send information.

Reporter Hang Ngan, News Department, Provincial Media Center, shared: Before storm No. 3 made landfall, I was assigned by the department's leaders to be on duty, present 24/7, reporting in Uong Bi City. When the storm made landfall in Quang Ninh, Uong Bi City was one of the localities where the storm's eye passed. At that time, strong gusts of wind accompanied by heavy rain surrounded the entire city. At the city headquarters, we had to use all our strength to close the windows to ensure safety. Due to the storm's impact, the entire city fell into a "3 no" state, so we had to take advantage of and make the most of our time, constantly moving to areas with mobile networks or the internet to immediately send news and articles to the Center. To reflect the most truthfully, we chose the safest locations to lead the scene to convey information to the audience. News and articles are very important, but we always remind each other to keep ourselves safe.

Responsibility, dedication, and not backing down in the face of difficulties are the working spirit and dedication of the team of journalists. Along with the reporters working at the scene, to keep the information about the storm updated continuously, we must mention the leadership team, editors, and technicians of the Provincial Media Center. As soon as Ha Long City fell into a "3 no" situation, receiving instructions from the Center's leadership, in order to promptly bring information to readers, the leadership team, editors, and technicians of the Center stayed up many nights to promote the highest sense of responsibility, both protecting machinery and equipment, minimizing damage to the agency, and making efforts to overcome difficulties to ensure conditions for power grid, transmission lines, continuous updates, no interruption of information, and timely posting on platforms.

Persevering through the pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic is like a fierce battlefield. On that battlefield, journalists always play a pioneering role, becoming soldiers on the front lines against the epidemic, making efforts in many ways to have the most current, authentic and vivid press products to send to readers...

As the mouthpiece of the Party Committee, government and people of Quang Ninh province, since the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, the Provincial Media Center has devoted a large amount of time to reporting on this pandemic. The Covid-19 epidemic began to appear in Vietnam in the days before the Lunar New Year of Canh Ty 2020 with a few cases and then the first cases in Quang Ninh. That was the beginning of a war that few people could imagine its devastation. At that time, information about Covid-19 was still a big question mark for scientists, experts and doctors.

In order to provide complete, timely and accurate information about the Covid-19 epidemic, in order to both proactively prevent and avoid causing panic among the people, the Provincial Media Center has promoted its role as the official press and media agency of the province, joining hands, unanimously, participating synchronously, and resolutely in the work of preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic. All policies and guidelines of the Party, State, Government, and the province on epidemic prevention and control, recommendations, developments of the epidemic situation... are quickly, promptly and fully disseminated by the center on all infrastructures, contributing significantly to orienting public opinion, helping people have an accurate view, not panic, subjective, indifferent to the epidemic situation; at the same time, multiplying people's trust in the epidemic prevention and control activities of the Party Committee and government. Reporters, editors, and cameramen of the Provincial Media Center are always ready to rush into "hot spots".

Following the medical field, reporter Nguyen Hoa (Thematic Department, Provincial Media Center) was present at most of the hot spots when the Covid-19 epidemic appeared. Reporter Nguyen Hoa shared: The days fighting the Covid-19 epidemic with my colleagues are unforgettable. Those were the days when the agency was home, the hospital was the battlefield. As soon as the agency and department leaders gave instructions, we immediately set off. When entering the epidemic center, we were all ready to attack. After each time working directly at the epidemic center, we had to fully follow the steps according to the medical instructions to protect the health of ourselves and our families. Worry is inevitable, but each of us clearly understands the significance of news, articles, and reports in this fight. The happy thing about this war is that we not only see the losses, but above all, the efforts of the Party Committee, government and local authorities, the sacrifices of the medical team, the solidarity, support and protection of kind-hearted people.

The fight against the Covid-19 pandemic is also a lesson from practice that requires flexibility in operations, production, and response to situations.

Journalist Manh Cuong , Head of the News Department , Provincial Media Center, said: The News Department is responsible for organizing the production of 7 daily news bulletins on television and news and articles on electronic and printed newspapers . Early 2022 is the time when the number of new cases in the province increased dramatically due to the transition from social distancing and blockade measures to the phase of applying the measure of "Safe, flexible adaptation, effective control of the Covid-19 epidemic". In which, the Center's officers, reporters, and employees, including many reporters, editors, and cameramen in the News Department, contracted Covid-19. This reality requires changing the production organization method to suit the reality. The application of information technology is maximized. Thanks to that, news is still maintained to ensure timely information to the people.

Each flood, storm or pandemic that passes leaves journalists with unforgettable memories like film footage. At the same time, it is a lesson in proactive information, flexible response, constantly improving information and propaganda work, meeting the requirements of development, and making an important contribution to local socio-economic development.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/vuot-qua-giong-bao-3361051.html