Journalism through the ages
Born in My Tra village, Cao Lanh district, former Sa Dec province, Tran Tan Quoc (born in 1914) was one of the famous journalists of the old Saigon press. At only 16 years old, for participating in distributing leaflets, in 1930 he was arrested by the French colonialists, sentenced to prison and exiled to Con Dao.
After being released from prison, he began to engage in journalism. Together with Nam Dinh - Nguyen Ky Nam, Tran Tan Quoc was one of the veteran journalists of Saigon journalism. Nam Dinh started working as a journalist in 1925 and wrote in French for Cong Luan newspaper . Tran Tan Quoc started with a series of reports called Pickpockets in Saigon published daily in Nguyen Phan Long's Viet Nam newspaper in 1936.
Despite the age and career gap, Nam Dinh and Tran Tan Quoc have always been close to each other through many periods. From 1940 - 1945, the two men edited the daily newspaper Dien Tin of Le Trung Cang. From 1946 - 1947, they "held the pen power" of the two newspapers Tin Dien and Tin Moi of Ms. Anna Le Trung Cang. Next were the two newspapers Du Luan and Viet Thanh of Nguyen Phan Long, and from 1968 - 1972, the famous newspaper Duoc Nha Nam .
Journalist Tran Tan Quoc
PHOTO: DOCUMENT
Tran Tan Quoc's real name is Tran Chi Thanh. From 1936 to 1975, he worked as a journalist under 7 different political regimes. Starting from the French colonial regime, the Japanese militarist regime, followed by the Viet Minh, Cochinchina, Bao Dai, Ngo Dinh Diem and Nguyen Van Thieu periods. During his 40 years of work, he used many pen names, such as: Tran Chi Thanh, Tran Tan Quoc, Thanh Tam, Tran Tu Van, Thanh Huyen, Tran Cao Lanh...
Beginner's step into the profession
According to author Thien Moc Lan in Forty Years of Journalism , when he had just passed his Primary School Certificate, Tran Tan Quoc dreamed of getting a Bachelor's degree to become a journalist. Before his dream could come true, he was exiled. After being released from prison in 1934, while he was alone in the strange land of Saigon, he was fortunate to meet Professor Dinh Nho Hang, who took pity on him, took him home, fed him, and let him study in a private class.
Tin Dien - one of the newspapers that Tran Tan Quoc used to be editor-in-chief of
PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG
Many times he expressed his desire to become a journalist, Professor Hang questioned him: "What do you become a journalist for?". He replied: "To write things that I think are beneficial to the people". "Who told you to do that?". "I understand that based on the journalism of Mr. Nguyen An Ninh and Mr. Diep Van Ky". Professor Hang continued to ask: "Do you know that because of working as a journalist to defend the people, Mr. Ninh has been in and out of prison several times and now, a law graduate from France, has to carry a briefcase to sell balm every day?". Mr. Quoc: "Sir, that is why the desire to become a journalist urges me even more".
Studying and living with Professor Hang for more than a year, one day, the teacher had to go to the province, and being alone at home was boring, Mr. Quoc went to the Saigon roundabout to sit on a bench, watching cars passing by until late at night. Suddenly, two men sat down together and spoke a strange "language":
- The root of the hole is broken.
The other person clicked his tongue:
- Do you think this guy is the flying guy or guy 77?
The man glanced at him and said:
- Humph, you say.
Not understanding what they said. The next day, Tran Tan Quoc told the policeman near Professor Dinh Nho Hang's house. He laughed heartily and said: "You've met some guys who eat foxes." "What does 'eat foxes' mean?". "They're pickpockets. And ' khaa tu', 'roi mum '... are their slang. ' Khau tu' is 'anh tu', 'khaa nhu' is 'thang nho', ' khaa lam ' is 'ong gia', ' roi' is 'linh', 'khaa 77' is 'linh phan', 'mum ' is 'catch', 'an bay' is 'petty thief'... And 'khua tu bi roi mum' means 'anh tu has been caught by the soldiers'."
Buoi Sang - one of the newspapers that Tran Tan Quoc used to be editor-in-chief of
PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG
After listening to the explanation, Tran Tan Quoc came up with the idea of writing a report about pickpockets in Saigon. Encouraged by Professor Hang, he asked to follow the policeman. So in nearly 3 months, he knew the den of the criminals, understood their slang and business tricks. Listening to him, Professor Hang said: "You write a report. That is the way to open the door for you to enter the journalism world."
So he wrote and brought the article to sell to Mr. Nguyen Phan Long, Editor of Viet Nam newspaper . For this first work, he was paid 20,000 VND in royalties. After the series of articles were published, he was accepted as a reporter for Viet Nam newspaper with a monthly salary of 30,000 VND and officially joined the Saigon press in June 1936.
Journalist Tran Tan Quoc interviewed in the Spring of the Nation magazine , 1962
PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG
Journalism is like… kidnapping and abandoning a plate.
In 1946, Tran Tan Quoc first became editor-in-chief of Anna Le Trung Cang's Tin Dien newspaper , and then became editor-in-chief of many other newspapers. "During the autonomous period of Cochinchina, we worked as journalists like... snatching a kid and leaving a plate. Whenever one newspaper was closed, we jumped to another. When another newspaper's license was revoked, we ran to rent a manchette from that other newspaper. In just 18 months, I became editor-in-chief of more than half a dozen daily newspapers: Tin Dien, Tin Moi, Du Luan, Viet Thanh, Sai Thanh, Cong Chung, " he recounted in his memoir.
Tran Tan Quoc recounted that in 4 years (1946 - 1949), he wrote most enthusiastically under the pen name Tran Tan Quoc, despite being arrested twice and blindfolded for his articles criticizing the autonomous policy of Southern Vietnam by doctor Nguyen Van Thinh. In mid-1947, after the licenses of the two newspapers Tin Dien published in the morning and Tin Moi published in the afternoon were revoked, journalist Nam Dinh was given a new license by Mr. Nguyen Phan Long to publish Viet Thanh . Although the name Viet Thanh was still brand new, the print run was up to 25,000 copies/day. However, after only one week, the printing house was vandalized twice.
In 1950, for the first time, he was the Editor-in-Chief of Tiếng Dôi newspaper , but by the end of 1954, his license had been revoked for "political reasons". During his time working for Tiếng Dôi newspaper , he also opened a theater page for the first time to promote the cải lương theater industry, and at the same time founded the Thanh Tâm award for cải lương artists. ( continued )
Viet Thanh - one of the newspapers that Tran Tan Quoc used to be editor-in-chief of
PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhan-vat-noi-tieng-nam-ky-luc-tinh-chu-nhiem-chu-but-tran-tan-quoc-185250701220845536.htm
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