Colonel, writer TRAN THE TUYEN: Need to make the "portrait" clearer

I have been a reader of the People's Army Newspaper (QĐND) on Saturday, now known as the QĐND Weekend Newspaper, since its first issue was introduced to readers in 1990. At that time, in my understanding, this was the newspaper of Uncle Ho's soldiers "in civilian clothes". "Civilian clothes" here is understood as reflecting on soldiers in the flow of everyday life.

From that starting criterion, the Editorial Board and the collective of the Weekend People's Army Newspaper over the generations have continuously improved and innovated to meet the new requirements and tasks of the army and the country; in line with the development trend of modern journalism.

Colonel, writer Tran The Tuyen. Photo: HA THU

One of the pages in the Weekend People's Army Newspaper that I like is "Portrait of a soldier" on page 3. First of all, through this page, I and readers can somewhat understand the "portrait of a soldier - Uncle Ho's soldiers" today in training, combat readiness, drills, competitions, sports, search and rescue, etc. The subjects of reflection are groups and individuals, including articles that I quite like: "The training ground blooms", "Truong Son soldiers on the Long Thanh construction site", "From school to battlefield", "Journalist Nguyen Khac Tiep warm affection"...

However, nowadays, when multimedia information technology develops along with fierce competition in journalism, the needs of readers are increasing. I think, the Weekend People's Army Newspaper should continue to innovate both the content and form of its publications, including the special page "Portrait of a soldier".

For example, in addition to portraying collective portraits, the “Portrait of a Soldier” page also needs to portray the unique features and personalities of soldiers in activities, missions and even in everyday life more. It should be improved in the direction of clearly portraying typical individual portraits with a smooth, flexible writing style, meeting the criteria of “soldiers in civilian clothes”, instead of portraying collective portraits or a block of photos of a unit.

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VU QUANG DONG, former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Vinh Phuc Newspaper: Applying the "5I" factor to clarify the soldier's qualities

Having grown up in the army and gone through the hardships of the resistance war, I have always had a special love for the Vietnam People's Army. Whether I am still a journalist or retired, I always follow and read the People's Army Newspaper, in which I pay much attention to the People's Army Newspaper Weekend PDF version on the People's Army Electronic Newspaper. Reading the content of this newspaper requires time to ponder because the articles basically convey a lot of diverse and in-depth information. Among them, the articles on page 3 "Portrait of a soldier" make me interested. This is also an information channel for me to understand what soldiers in peacetime think, how they train, prepare for combat, and carry out their missions.

In the process of reading and receiving information, I see that the Editorial Board is always innovative. The articles have aimed at the elements of modern journalism "5I": Informed, intelligent, interesting, insightful and interpretation. Or: Informed; intelligent; interesting; insightful; interpretive...

However, I see that there are many typical collective information sketches in the Army but not many in the local armed forces. There are very few articles about local militia and self-defense forces or agencies on this page, but mainly about the main force of the army, branches, academies, schools... Second, the number of articles about model privates, privates or platoon leaders with outstanding achievements is still modest.

Comrade Vu Quang Dong (right), former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Vinh Phuc Newspaper. Photo: DUC TAM

In my opinion, the Weekend People's Army Newspaper should increase in-depth articles, reports, and notes about military agencies and units to clarify the spirit of dedication, sacrifice, and spiritual life of soldiers, especially those on special missions. The articles should tell stories of soldiers, squads, platoons, and companies in training missions, combat readiness, production labor, helping people, and searching and rescuing victims, overcoming the consequences of natural disasters, etc.

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Major DANG VAN DONG, Deputy Political Commissar of Ship 18, Brigade 171, Naval Region 2: Learning the qualities of a soldier

In September 2010, after graduating from high school, I joined the Naval Academy and trained in Cam Ranh. We began to get acquainted with military life through the system of regulations and training content without understanding anything deeply. At this time, we also began to get acquainted with the publications of the People's Army Newspaper (QĐND), including the QĐND Weekend Newspaper.

At that time, none of us new soldiers had phones and using the internet was a distant dream. The only thing we looked forward to during breaks and training hours was not cool drinks or candy, but the People's Army Newspaper, including the People's Army Newspaper Weekend. Under the shade of the trees, we passed it around to read. Each person could only read one page and then pass it on to the next person. Everyone read very slowly, as if afraid of losing the words. I remember clearly that the newspaper was printed on rough paper, with some ink and tea stains, and a small tear in the corner from the wind. Yet it was as precious as gold. To this day, the rough feeling on my fingertips still lingers. And the story in that issue is still in my mind, indelible.

Soldiers of Naval Region 2 read the Weekend People's Army Newspaper. Photo: DUC HUY

The article was written about the Navy soldiers at DK1 Platform in a light but profound tone. It was just a simple story, but as I read it, I felt like I could see the sea breeze, the waves, and the characters' eyes hidden in it. At that time, although sweat was pouring down my body because of the scorching sun, I felt cool inside. The fatigue also subsided, giving way to an indescribable feeling, which was admiration for the spirit of dedicating a part of my youth to the sea and islands of my country. From then on, I always read the Weekend People's Army Newspaper.

Up to now, reading this publication has been a hard-to-break habit of mine. Wherever I go, I wait for the weekend to read the newspaper. When I am at sea for a long time and do not have the opportunity to read the Weekend QĐND Newspaper, I feel like something is missing. We have to take out the old newspaper to read to ease the longing. There are rainy and windy days, the ship is rocking in the middle of the night sea, the brothers gather at the soldiers' club to read the slightly crumpled newspaper. We feel like we are following the reporters to visit each character in each story, caught up in each detail and unable to stop. The Weekend QĐND Newspaper has a very real writing style. It writes about politics and military without being dogmatic or dry. It writes about soldiers without being boring or dry. Sometimes when I read the last paragraph, I suddenly exclaimed in surprise because the article is very real, understanding of soldiers, close to soldiers' lives.

Nowadays, information and social networks are everywhere, mixing truth and falsehood, and the Weekend People's Army Newspaper is the information channel that we trust and enjoy. When doing propaganda work, I often tell people that there is a lot of information but we have to know how to select. You guys should choose to read the official newspapers, especially the People's Newspaper and the People's Army Newspaper. The Weekend People's Army Newspaper is even more valuable, with many good articles full of literature, understanding soldiers, and being closer to our soldiers.

Now, when I hear that the Weekend People's Army Newspaper has turned 35 years old, I suddenly think of the first afternoon at the hot training ground, where I first picked up the newspaper and felt relieved in the midst of tiring training days. And I silently thank the soldiers who have accompanied, lived with and preserved the "soldier's breath" and "military-civilian love" in each word.

Hopefully, no matter how much time passes, that newspaper will always be a loyal friend to those who used to wear military uniforms, especially marines who spend all year making friends with the waves and with crumpled newspapers that they read over and over again like me.

VIRTUE (recorded)

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/nuoi-duong-van-hoa-bo-doi-cu-ho/trang-bao-dong-day-chat-linh-835569