Professionalism in journalism: boundaries of the concept through the prism of scientific research

For citation: Litvinova A. Professionalism in journalism: boundaries of the concept through the prism of scientific research // Mediascope. 2023.2. Available at: http://www.mediascope.ru/2817

© Aleksandra I. Litvinova

Senior lecturer at the Chair of Digital Media Communications, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, St. Petersburg State University (St. Petersburg, Russia), a.litvinova@spbu.ru

Abstract

Affected by the transformation of mass communication, journalism faces challenges delegitimizing its professional status. Changes in working environment and practices of journalistic daily routine in parallel with the development of alternative journalism raise concerns about their impact on quality and question the core values and journalists’ professional identity. This requires carefully defining boundaries of professional journalism in contemporary conditions. Based on the analysis of articles published in scientific magazines «Journalism» and «New media and society» from 2000 to 2022, our research systematizes the researchers’ perception of professionalism in journalism. It is mostly determined through ethics, skills and practices, internal and external autonomy and to a lesser extent - status and qualification. Professional identity, core journalistic values and skills are being diluted by digitalization and political processes and are being rethought by professionals worldwide. The boundaries of journalistic professionalism are characterized by porousness, heterogeneity, contextuality, subjectivity, normativity and selectivity.

Key words: professionalism in journalism, professional journalism, boundaries in journalistic professionalism

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