Elizabeth Winch at work in her office at the Vientiane Times.

Longest serving sub-editor at the Vientiane Times

Millions of articles published in the Vientiane Times have been meticulously edited and polished by Elizabeth Winch, who has dedicated more than 20 years to ensuring that the newspaper maintains acceptable standards of English language.

Elizabeth receives a Certificate of Congratulations from the Editor-in-Chief of Lao Press in Foreign Languages, Mr Thonglor Duangsavanh, during the Vientiane Times’ 30th anniversary celebrations.

Elizabeth views photos on display at the Vientiane Times’ 30th anniversary celebrations at the Landmark Mekong Riverside Hotel, alongside a former colleague at the newspaper.

The Vientiane Times celebrated its 30th anniversary on April 7 after going through many years of change and development, to which Elizabeth has made a huge contribution by working every day of the week and often late into the night. Without her conscientious editing and attention to detail, many of the articles published would lack clarity and cohesion. 
Elizabeth was born and grew up in England but Vientiane has been her second home for many years, which she enjoys because of the friendly people and their ready smiles, the warm climate, the tasty food made from local ingredients, the laidback lifestyle, and the colourful markets. She also regularly wears the traditional Lao sinh, the same as her female colleagues. 
She first walked through the doors of the Vientiane Times offices in 2003 as a volunteer to help teach and edit the work of Lao journalists, whose stories require extensive rewriting before publication.
As a senior reporter when Elizabeth came on board, I have worked alongside her for the past 20 years and freely admit to being one of her many students. She has given me new insights into writing styles and use of vocabulary and has willingly given her time and shared her abilities with all members of staff.
She attributes her strong grounding in reading and writing, which was instilled in her from a very young age at home and at schools in Britain, to her enjoyment of her work and the satisfaction she gains from piecing together a coherent article.
She has always been on hand to help, at all times of the day and night, whatever the occasion or the difficulty or urgency of the request, and we have been privileged to work with such a good-natured and generous woman.
Elizabeth says it has been a delight to work with all of the reporters and editors and to watch their progress over the years. She has also greatly enjoyed their warm friendship and sociable nature, including the many meals shared together.
In terms of advice to reporters, her main recommendation is to read as much as possible, both in order to learn and to get to grips with the intricacies of the English language.
From her colleagues, she has learnt the importance of patience, graciousness, hospitality, and kinship – traits which she has tried to emulate. She greatly appreciates being a member of a community that values tolerance and restraint in the face of adversity, and the fact that stressful days are frequently lightened by kind-hearted comments and conviviality.
She values the many close friendships she has formed with her colleagues and the opportunity to learn about the problems they face in their lives, but most of all she has come to understand the importance of strong family bonds.  
The Lao Press in Foreign Languages (Vientiane Times) was established on April 7, 1994, under the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism and recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.
The newspaper has received support from many international sources, including the British Embassy in Vientiane, to enable fulfilment of its mission to act as a mouthpiece for the Party and state in informing the rest of the world about developments in Laos.
Several volunteers from Australia and the United Kingdom have given their time to help out at the newspaper, but Elizabeth Winch has been the most dedicated and conscientious and has served for the longest period of time.
She has worked hard and given of her time unstintingly, editing not only newspaper articles but speeches and numerous other documents as required by the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism in relation to events of national importance.
During the South-East Asian Games hosted by Laos, she stayed in the office with Lao editors and reporters to edit reports up until midnight or 2am each day. She has also worked on Christmas Day every year, and written hundreds of emails during the recruitment of other sub-editors as well as helping them to settle in and sort out their problems.
Her contributions were recently acknowledged with a Certificate of Congratulations from Lao Press in Foreign Languages, presented to her during the newspaper’s 30th anniversary celebrations this month, which she deeply appreciated.

By Phon Thikeo
 (Latest Update April 29, 2024)