Pasaxon focuses on developing online news

This story marks the 72nd anniversary of the Media and Publication Day, which was first observed on August 13, 1950.

The Pasaxon, a leading Lao language newspaper, is currently focused on developing a website to provide all the news online in the near future.
The Editor-in-Chief of Pasaxon newspaper, Mr Vansay Tavinyan, said this during a recent interview with Vientiane Times to mark the 72nd anniversary of the Media and Publication Day, which was first observed on August 13, 1950.

Editor-in-Chief Vansay Tavinyan.

August 13 is an important day for Laos and marks the birth of Lao media and publications. The Neo Lao Issara newspaper (the predecessor of today’s Pasaxon newspaper) was officially established on this day and became the first revolutionary media vehicle in Laos. The Pasaxon is now under the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.
History of Pasaxon in brief:
The Congress of the Resistance Front opened on August 13, 1950 in the Xamneua stronghold area of Huaphan province and agreed to establish the Neo Lao Issara (Lao Free Front).
The Congress further agreed to establish the Lao Issara newspaper the same day to serve as an instrument for the revolutionary struggle to free the country. This was done in response to the requirements of the political duties of the Indochina Communist Party in the 1950s, which in Laos was known as the Phak Khaen Lao (Lao Territory Party).
The newspaper had two main aims. The first was to disseminate the stratagems aimed at removing Laos from domination by old and new imperialists. The second was to mobilise all Lao ethnic groups to join the revolution at a time when the resistance movement was gaining strength and rising up to fight for the nation’s rights and sovereignty.  
Outsiders thought the Neo Lao Issara newspaper was the voice of the Neo Lao Issara and the resistance movement, but in reality it was the voice of the Lao People’s Party at that time. The media was developing into a sharp weapon of the Party to fight alongside people from all walks of life in terms of ideology. The Party was determined to make the newspaper relevant and turn it into a revolutionary tool and a trustworthy mouthpiece of the Party.
After the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party was established on March 22, 1955, the Party used the newspaper to fulfill its revolutionary ambitions and inspire the populace.The Pasaxon has enjoyed growth in terms of its personnel, quality and quantity under the leadership and direction of the Party during various periods of the country’s development until now. At present, Pasaxon is still a mouthpiece of the Party to propagate the policy directions of the Party to the people, and in turn convey the ideas, concepts and wishes of the people to the Party.
Mr Vansay said readers can read news through a hard copy of the newspaper, on the website and on its Facebook page. The news is available for all readers living in Laos and foreign nations, so that they get information on what is happening in the country. There are many interesting news reports, features and columns to read in the 12-16-page broadsheet newspaper.
“The most popular part of the newspaper are feature stories, especially editorials, opinion pieces and interviews. More readers are interested in reading them as they are informative and the people benefit from them,” said Mr Vansay.
Though the newspaper has been developed over a long time, it will keep on developing in future to provide quick information to readers. The newspaper has a plan to develop its website and news content, which will be a priority for the Pasaxon, once the working of the management has been improved.
Since 2020, Pasaxon has actively focused on developing its website and the number of people reading news online has increased from 300,000 to 8 million, but there is still big room to improve in future, said Mr Vansay. 
The newspaper’s office has also been decorated so that it is a nice place to work in.
Mr Vansay said Pasaxon has cooperated with Nhan dan newspaper of Vietnam for a long time. The Nhan dan is under the leadership of the Vietnamese Communist Party. The two newspapers will keep on cooperating to develop themselves side by side. The Nhan dan has supported the Pasaxon to upgrade the skills of its personnel in all fields where the Nhan dan could help.
Laos and Vietnam are celebrating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Laos-Vietnam Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation. The two sides have conveyed greetings to each other on important days of both countries.
The Pasaxon has made a presentation to the Vietnamese side on the support required to develop its website and IT system.      
Several public and private organisations have visited the Pasaxon and exchanged lessons with the newspaper about the background of the Lao media’s development since it was born in 1950.

By Phon Thikeo
(Latest Update Augus 2, 2022)