Tuoi Tre News comes back on October 17 after a three-month halt, and our readers seemto joyfully embrace the news.

“I am very relieved to hear that Tuoi Tre News will soon be back online,” said Australian Ray Kuschert, an English teacher who claimed to read Tuoi Tre News every day.

“Online news is so important to foreigners living in Vietnam,” he added. 

“I keep in touch with Tuoi Tre News every day because it’s one of the few news sources in Ho Chi Minh City that I can rely on,” he added. “I think Tuoi Tre News delivers a great service and am very happy with the stories.

“It will be good to know I will again have up to date daily information that I can refer to.”

Meanwhile, Filipino university lecturer John Bayarong also expressed his happiness hearing that Tuoi Tre News would be back after a three-month hiatus as he got most of his news from the website.

“I would say that whenever I looked for news, it would always be a part of the search,” he said. 

“I used a lot of Tuoi Tre’s articles as sample cases for my corporate communication classes at the Hoa Sen University, not only because they are written in English, but because the peg and the story treatment are quite different from the rest.”

Bill Harany, from Canada, said he was glad that the newspaper would be providing local news again.

“I’m pleased and happy for Tuoi Tre,” British Philip Genochio added a cheerful comment.

In mid-July, Tuoi Tre News announced a three-month shutdown for maintenance.

That was a disappointment to some readers who said it was not very easy for them to find an equal alternative news resource.

“After all, for those of us who do not speak Vietnamese, there are very few options and none are equal in format and content,” Fallon J Paul, from the U.S., said.

“As hard as I searched, I could find nothing equal to Tuoi Tre.”

Fallon J Paul, who said he has relied on Tuoi Tre News for ninety percent of his daily news, did send a message to show his support for the Tuoi Tre News team during the shutdown.

“I sent a message of encouragement and support,” he said.

“I am convinced many felt as I did and I wanted Tuoi Tre News to know that we supported them.   “The response was upbeat and promising and gave me hope for Tuoi Tre’s fut    . ure.”

Filipino John Bayarong said the three sections that he likes - education, business and the section with features on Vietnamese culture - were quickly filled in by other English online newspapers, but “inadequately.”

“However, Tuoi Tre’s section about foreigners (stories, tips, etc.) was something that none of the other online newspapers could offer or duplicate,” he added.

Looking to the future

Readers also candidly spoke out what they expect to see on the site in the future.

“I am expecting their service to pick up where it was three months ago and continue to bring the best local news and information to foreigners living in Ho Chi Minh City,” Ray Kuschert said. 

“I would like to see more audio content to support their stories. It’s great for learning English,” he added.

British Philip Genochio wished Tuoi Tre News to publish “stories and features that not just provide information but help bring important issues into the public realm for discussion and debate.”

He also liked to see video clips with fewer graphics and more focus on the story on the site.

Meanwhile, Bill Harany, who is based in the southern province of Tra Vinh, hoped to see renewed energy and enthusiastic, investigative journalism.

“I look forward to your mix of hard news and human interest,” Fallon J Paul said.

“I hope you’ll continue your format and presentation style, very easy to read and understand,” he added. “I hope you will remember that there’s more to Vietnam than Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.”

For his part, Filipino university lecturer John Bayarong pointed out the unique characteristics of Tuoi Tre News.

“In a global setting, the features on local culture are really the unique contribution of Tuoi Tre News,” he said

“Given sufficient attention, it can be Tuoi Tre’s contribution to the world news and a financial tool for the newspaper.”

Tuoi Tre News’ section about foreigners was also a unique selling point, according to him. “The section's audience share is small because the target audience is foreigners,” he said.

“However, the audience would widen if the section also addresses locals who are interested to know more about foreigners and their point of view.”

Bayarong continued to share what he would like to see on Tuoi Tre News, including more foreigners sharing their insights into the events happening and places to go in the country, alongside more in-depth and continuing coverage of interesting stories.

“The taxi hailing app Grab versus Uber series was a prominent topic in my marketing and communication classes at the University of Economics and Finance, as well as PSB College because the students clearly understood Tuoi Tre’s English articles,” the lecturer gave an example.

Aside from content, he suggested faster loading of the pages.

“As both a communication specialist and a journalist, I know that speed (applied in all parts of the website) is the key to viewer attraction and most importantly, engagement and retention,” he concluded.