The museum has 20,000 exhibits on display showcasing the history of Vietnamese journalism. Photo laodong.vn

HÀ NỘI — A new museum showcasing the contributions made by journalist over the years officially opens in Hà Nội on Friday.

Việt Nam Press Museum features more than 20,000 exhibits and documents covering from 1865 through to the present day.

It depicts coverage by journalists from the resistance time through to modern times.

“Việt Nam Press Museum was born late compared to many other museums,” said Trần Thị Kim Hoa, the museum’s director.

“Putting the collection together has been very difficult.”

In 2014, some of 500 exhibits were donated by veteran journalists to Vietnam Journalist Association where the museum is based, according to the director.

“To collect more exhibits we called on and encouraged journalists to donate their work to paint a picture of the history of journalism.”

Almost 20,000 original exhibits are on display at the museum, including 700 rare and unique objects.

“We asked a technician to recreate a dark room with historic equipment which was used by Vietnam News Agency’s photographers before 1975,” said veteran journalist Lê Quốc Trung, the museum’s consultant.

The museum also has 26 videos to introduce to visitors the history of Việt Nam journalism and the outstanding journalists who have worked in the industry.

Vietnam News Agency (VNA) is one organisation to donate to the museum. On June 4, VNA presented objects and photos including a Morse code machine and a national flag. 

The machine was used by the Liberation News Agency's reporters and technicians to broadcast news from the battlefields during the war against America. 

The national flag has the signature of the captain of the KN22 ship presented to the Vietnam News Agency reporters in June 2014. 

The ship is one of Vietnamese fisheries surveillance boats that observed China withdraw the oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 from Việt Nam's waters. 

Among the objects is a photo featuring Uncle Hồ and VNA officials and reporters together with their children at a ceremony celebrating the President’s 60th birthday at the Việt Bắc Safety Zone.

"VNA is willing to share valuable artefacts and photos with the museum to introduce our work to people at home and abroad," VNA's Deputy-General Director Lê Quốc Minh said at the ceremony. 

Minh added that he hopes in the future, besides traditional exhibits, the Museum will focus on displaying modern media products from the digital era.

With this content, the VNA will contribute many of its innovative and pioneering information products, he said.

Việt Nam Press Museum's opening coincides with the 95th anniversary of Việt Nam Revolutionary Journalism Day. 

The museum will open from 8am to 5pm at E2 Dương Đình Nghệ Road, Cầu Giấy District. — VNS