* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
More than once I saw the stony eyes of the Ho Chi Minh statue in the Vietnam TV training room crinkle in amusement as yet another burst of laughter cut through the 40-degree heat.
More than once I saw the stony eyes of the Ho Chi Minh statue in the Vietnam TV training room crinkle in amusement as yet another burst of laughter cut through the 40-degree heat. Inflation, interest rates, income statements – they’re actually fun, you know.
Tom Atkins and I were in Hanoi to deliver an economic and business reporting course for almost a dozen journalists from Southeast Asia. We arrived with insect repellent, a few million dong and a 5-day training plan. We left with happy memories and the knowledge we now have firm friends in Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines.
“The Hanoi Financial Geeks” – as they quickly named their new facebook networking page after the course – endured a workshop that pushed them relentlessly through the basics of the economic cycle, central banks, financial markets, company accounts and government debt. They survived.
“Writing stories about finance was a real challenge for me since I had to deal with complicated data. I am now more confident because I know how to simplify things, pick up good angles, search for relevant data,” says Suy Heimkhemra, a Cambodian reporter visiting Hanoi for the first time and who shared my love for a city once known as The Paris of the East.
It’s about the people
This was my second visit to Hanoi in six months and again it captured my soul with its charming, multi-faceted personality: medieval, colonial, communist. A glance in any direction as I walk down streets is an intriguing collage of contrasts: a shiny, modern Gucci boutique alongside the green-shuttered façade of a French Colonial residence flying a communist party flag; a silver Ferrari parked alongside a black 1930s Citroen at the Hoan Kiem Lake (the Lake of the Restored Sword).
Too often reporters fear financial news because they think it’s only about data. We reminded our participants that it is about real people doing real things and that the health of an economy is visible in the world around them. They quickly proved, through practical writing exercises, that they could find and explain “numbers news” simply and clearly to the general public by focusing on what people should know, why they should care and what questions they should ask.
In developing countries – communist or emerging from communism – astute, critical financial reporters are vital. People in these countries need help from their media to grasp the fundamentals of economic and business news so that they can understand the decisions their governments are making and can make more informed, considered choices for themselves.
“I loved how you explained that it's all about the people, that economic indicators reflect what people can earn and spend,” says Hoàng Minh Ngọc, a Vietnamese journalist. “From now on when I write about inflation etc, I'll try to make the numbers less dry by focusing on their implications.”
Not alone
One of the valuable side-effects of a Thomson Reuters Foundation course is the alliance of those attending, particularly when they come from countries with differing press freedom standards. An integral part of our training is journalism ethics and we learned a great deal about the challenges facing reporters in the region when it comes to finding sources and reporting news.
We emphasise international best practice in journalism but we know that, for many, overcoming bribery, corruption and censorship is a daily battle. No journalist should feel alone out there.
“I really appreciated the personal experience that the trainers shared with us. As a journalist, we face situations that question our ethics. When the trainers shared stories about difficult situations that they've been through, it helped me,” said Minh Hằng, a Vietnamese journalist.
As I write this, I have received news that Tom, who stayed on for another week to be a tourist, has summited Fansipan – the highest peak in Indochina. He writes on the Hanoi Financial Geeks facebook page: “I reached the peak of Fansipan yesterday! It was cold, stormy, steep, slippery, muddy and lots of fun.” Not bad for a middle-aged Frankfurt-based American banking hack!
Back in the VTV training room, Ho Chi Minh is now definitely smiling….
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