Hanoi (VNA)꧟ - A bilingual photo book entitled “100 Years of Vietnam’s Revolutionary Press (1925–2025)” was officially launched on June 10 at the Vietnam News Agency headquarters in Hanoi.
Published by the Vietnam News Agency Publishing House, the photo book is considered a valuable documentary work chronicling a century of revolutionary journalism in Vietnam, serving as an important reference for both domestic and international audiences.
This is the first-ever photo book dedicated to the 100-year journey of Vietnam’s revolutionary press. It features more than 1,000 carefully selected and rare photographs and documents, sourced from various institutions both inside and outside Vietnam.
Each photograph is accompanied by detailed information illustrating the historical formation and development of the revolutionary press in Vietnam, from the resistance wars against the French and the US to the ongoing process of national construction and defense.
Journalist Phung Thi My, Director and Editor-in-Chief of the VNA Publishing House, noted that preparations for the book took over a year. The project involved not only in-house editors but also scholars, photojournalists, veteran journalists, and collectors across the country.
The book is a tribute to President Ho Chi Minh, the great revolutionary journalist and founder of Vietnam’s revolutionary press, and to generations of revolutionary journalists, especially the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to build the vibrant press landscape we have today. It is also a source of pride and encouragement for today’s and future journalists as they continue to accompany the nation, My said.
Journalist Le Quoc Minh, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Vice Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Communication and Education, and President of the Vietnam Journalists Association, praised the book's documentary value, particularly in the lead-up to the centennial celebration of Vietnam’s revolutionary journalism.
The book systematically showcases the 100-year journey of revolutionary journalism in Vietnam. Its bilingual format not only helps Vietnamese readers better understand the nation's press history but also serves as a vivid introduction for international audiences, Minh noted.
He also proposed using the book as part of preparations for the upcoming National Press Festival and National Journalism Awards. Nhan Dan Newspaper has ordered 200 copies as reference material.
The event also gathered contributors to the book, including collector Nguyen Phi Dung, who owns around 23 tonnes of press-related documents. Notably, he contributed a rare copy of Co Giai Phong (Liberation Flag), the official propaganda paper of the Indochinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, with its first issue dated October 10, 1942.
Dung shared that he purchased the newspaper for 48 million VND (1,834 USD) from a private owner in Bac Ninh province. Given the harsh and dangerous conditions under which revolutionary press operated at the time, using lithography or handwritten formats, very few copies remain. No institution currently holds this edition, so he felt compelled to add it to his collection. Another motivation, he said, is the high demand for pre-1954 revolutionary newspapers, both domestically and internationally./.