The ideas were shared at a meeting held by Tuoi Tre Newspaper and its English newswire, Tuoitrenews.vn, in commemoration of the 2nd birthday of the news service and the 87th anniversary of Vietnam Journalism Day (June 21st).
The attendees included Michael Tatarski and Richie Humphrey, subeditor and columnist of Tuoitrenews, respectively.
The event was also joined by other contributors to Tuoitrenews, including Jade Bilowol, lecturer of Professional Communication at RMIT University Vietnam; Sarah Dallof, multiplatform writer; Kevin Miller, Jr., blogger – IT consultant - ICT teacher; Peter Cornish, education consultant; and Eric Burdette, marketing executive at Vido tour.
Most of the participants said the layout and format of the newswire is clear and attractive enough to catch readers’ interest, and the quality of the English language of the site is good enough to read.
Regarding what is more interesting to read, breaking news or in-depth stories, many said they would pay attention to breaking news first, but only in-depth stories remain with them and make them loyal readers of Tuoitrenews.
(From L), Sarah Dallof, Eric Burdette, Peter Cornish, Michael Tatarski, and Richie Humphrey. Photo by Minh Duc
As a result, they required more in-depth stories about Vietnam and its peoples.
They also asked the site to produce more hard-hitting stories, reduce gossip news, and add more additional details, especially to the background of every article, so that foreign readers will be able to follow the stories more easily.
“In the past, the newswire used to offer many moving stories, but that trend seems to be fading away,” said Peter Cornish, adding that such stories are the most eye-catching in his view.
“You should add more background to business stories, like stories about gold, like why gold is so important in the Vietnamese business world,” said Michael Tatarski.