Nhan Dan Television — Foreign Affairs Bureau
Four months at the Foreign Affairs desk of Nhan Dan Television — my first newsroom, and the place I learned what it means to carry a story all the way to broadcast.
I interned at the Bureau for Resident Correspondents, mentored by journalist Nguyễn Thúy Quỳnh. The work was hands-on from the start: covering news lines tied to Vietnam's foreign affairs, following stories from assignment through to the edit. Over those four months, six of my pieces made it to air on Nhan Dan Television — among them reports on strengthening Vietnam–Argentina cooperation, the proposal for a direct Vietnam–Argentina air route, and the 21,500-plus entries to the "Denmark in My Eyes" competition.
The desk also opened doors I hadn't expected. Reporting on foreign affairs meant being in the room for diplomatic occasions — a reception hosted by the Argentine Ambassador to Vietnam at the State Guest House on Đặng Thai Mai, a concert marking Azerbaijan's Independence Day, the ceremony for the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Accords on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam. Each one was a lesson in how diplomacy is staged, observed, and recorded.
Sadly, the pieces themselves are no longer online — Nhan Dan Television closed during last year's restructuring, and the archive went with it. But the months stay with me: a generous mentor, a real newsroom, and the first time I watched something I had reported go out on a national channel. A lot of good memories, and a lot learned.
“The first time I watched something I had reported go out on a national channel — that stays with you.”
6
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21,500+