I’ve known Người Việt Tây Bắc for much longer than I have been in news. I grew up watching my parents bother restaurant employees, asking them for a copy of the newspaper. They’d share pages and would read it during lunch. If they could, they’d leave with the paper.
Người Việt Tây Bắc became important to me when I was in college, when I was trying to improve my spoken Vietnamese and learn how to read and write. My teacher told us that one of the best ways to learn was to read the newspaper, so I read NVTB.
It was as a newspaper editor that I first met the great people behind Nguoi Viet Tay Bac. Editor Kim Pham sent me an email inviting me to an event the paper was organizing. I eagerly wrote back, feeling like I was talking to a celebrity.
My relationship with Người Việt Tây Bắc began as something sentimental, but these days I have a new perspective. I see it as a formidable voice in community news. It distinguishes itself from others because it cares, it’s smart, and it values the opinions and capabilities of its readers.
