The national broadcaster, Voice of Vietnam, first aired on September 7th, 1945, five days after President Ho Chi Minh read the Proclamation of Independence in Ba Dinh Square, and from there announced the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam 80 years ago.
The Voice of Vietnam broadcast its first news bulletin with the broadcast of the Proclamation of Independence, read by the Vietnamese leader to some 500,000 citizens. Reaffirming national sovereignty to the world and laying the foundation for establishing a state for the well-being of the Indochinese people.
Eight decades ago, the existence of a national broadcaster, the Voice of Vietnam, was announced to the world. A moment of great significance for the Vietnamese people, as they had, for the first time, a mass media outlet to express their just cause in defense of their principles and the development of the country.
Vinh Phong, a current journalist with the Voice of Vietnam, recalls that “after the triumph of the August Revolution throughout the country, and on his way back to the capital, Hanoi, from Tan Trao, in the northern province of Tuyen Quang, President Ho Chi Minh issued urgent instructions for the immediate creation of a national radio station.”
And without wasting any time, on the morning of August 22nd, 1945, the then member of the Northern Provisional Revolutionary Committee, Xuan Thuy (1912-1985). Called a meeting to announce the Vietnamese leader’s decision to assign the responsibility of establishing the station to propaganda official Tran Lam.
In just ten days, Tran Lam formed the editorial team with around twenty intellectuals to create the Voice of Vietnam 80 years ago. It has been a link between the past, present, and future, contributing to the building of a strong and prosperous nation.
This was stated by Nguyen Trong Nghia, head of the Department of the Communist Party Central Committee, who said: “I appreciate the determination of the Voice of Vietnam, from its leadership to its journalists, editors, and technicians.
The national broadcaster not only fulfills its mission of informing people within the country and carrying out international communication work, but also extends its reach to mountainous, border, and island areas, delivering information more quickly, effectively, and diversely.”
As National Radio, the Voice of Vietnam disseminates the information, policies, and guidelines of the Communist Party and the state. Contributing to raising the cultural and spiritual level of the people and updating friends around the world on the country’s reality.
It is worth remembering that Radio Havana Cuba broadcast the news of the victory in South Vietnam on April 30th, 1975, which made possible the country’s reunification. Radio Havana Cuba offered the news to the world through announcers Joan Gandini (of Italian nationality) and Robert David Cohen (American), two contributors to the Voice of Vietnam International Channel who worked for the Cuban station.
It constitutes a multimedia communication agency for the current Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with General and Political News and Culture-Society-Education channels. As well as Music and Recreation, broadcasts in ethnic languages, and the International and Traffic Channels.
It has a newspaper with its first edition on November 2nd, 1998, and on February 3rd, 1999, its VOV website was posted online. On September 7th, 2008, the Voice of Vietnam Television Channel was officially launched. Reaching maturity according to the standards of modern media: oral, television, print, and electronic.
In addition, there is the arduous task of covering all spheres of social life and delivering its signal to all parts of the country and the rest of the world. To achieve this, the Voice of Vietnam relies on information sources provided by an Information Center and a Radio Techniques Center.
Its information content is systematically nourished by its five national offices and ten international correspondents. It also has two Radio and Television Colleges, an Advertising and Services Center, and a corporation for the export and import of information and communication equipment and materials.
The Voice of Vietnam (VOV, as it is also known) broadcasts in 13 languages, under the responsibility of its management staff, journalists, technicians, and other employees, a collective dedicated to serving the best causes of information and communication. In fulfillment of the mission assigned by the country’s highest authorities. Broadcasting in Spanish began on September 7th, 1973.
At the central event marking the 80th anniversary of the Voice of Vietnam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, representing the Party and government leaders, presented the station’s staff with the Ho Chi Minh Order, a recognition it has received for the third time.
This media outlet opened a pavilion at the National Exhibition commemorating the 80th anniversary of Vietnam’s independence and development. Due to the high turnout, the station’s management decided to extend the exhibition’s closure until September 15th, 2025.
For 80 years, the Voice of Vietnam has accompanied the nation and held high the red flag with the gold star, as the vanguard of national radio and the first media outlet founded by President Ho Chi Minh after the August Revolution and the Declaration of Independence. From then until the current era of development, the station has remained closely linked to the future of the country.
By: Ezequiel Hernández Gómez
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