Formation of the Professional Worldview of Future Journalists in the Process of Studying at University (Opinion of the Expert Community from the CIS Countries)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the role of higher journalism education as an institution of professional socialization of future journalists. The purpose of this research was to study the ideas of employees of the higher education system about the mission of journalism educators to introduce students to the values of the professional community. The empirical basis of the study was the materials from a series of semi-structured interviews conducted in 2022–2023 with teachers of professional journalistic disciplines and/or organizers of journalistic education from Armenia, Belarus, Russia and Tajikistan. In the self-reflection of journalism educators, assessments of the degree of influence of the education system on the process of forming the worldview of a future journalist, ideas about the role of theoretical disciplines as a source of normative attitudes and a set of ideas that should be included in the ideological core of professional journalism education in the studied countries in accordance with current social expectations were highlighted. In particular, expert from Russia and Armenia called the patriotic education of journalists a key public demand in recent years. In Russia, the education system is only trying to adapt to the new demands of the social environment, while in Armenia the idea of educating journalists in a patriotic way has been implemented for the last 20 years. Experts from Belarus named the defense of historical truth in relation to the role of the USSR as a winner in World War II as a key idea requiring inclusion in the thematic register of journalistic disciplines. The participants of the study noted the need for regular contacts in the educational space of the CIS.