Journalist- a person engaged in public activities in the collection, processing and periodic dissemination of relevant information through mass communication channels. The profession is suitable for those who are interested in Russian language and literature and social studies (see choosing a profession based on interest in school subjects).

Journalism (from French journal- diary, newspaper) is a type social activities on the collection, processing and periodic dissemination of relevant information through mass communication channels (press, radio, television, cinema, etc.). Therefore, a journalist is a person working in a system of media mass media(MASS MEDIA). And although the name of this profession indicates a relationship with the magazine, journalists also work on radio and television.

In this regard, journalism is divided into many subtypes (specializations): newspaper journalism, photo, radio and television journalism, Internet journalism, public relations (PR). Journalism is not just about current news. Among the topics it covers are international relations and economics, which require special preparation. Articles, notes, television reports are the work of correspondents. But journalists also include editors and designers working in publishing houses, radio and TV, as well as editorial secretariat workers. All of them are participants in the information process.

On January 13, Russia celebrates Russian Press Day. This is a professional holiday whose history goes back more than 300 years. It is believed that journalism in our country arose in 1702, when, by personal decree and personal participation of Tsar Peter the Great (1672 - 1725), the first printed newspaper “Vedomosti” appeared, published by typographic method. Since then, the Russian press has been developing and establishing itself, although back in 1621 the first Russian non-print newspaper, “Chimes,” appeared. It was handwritten and published in the form of a scroll in several copies 2-4 times a month. The clerks distributed it to a limited circle of people - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1629 - 1676) and his entourage. The newspaper contained information on military, diplomatic, court and trade topics from foreign newspapers.

The Russian newspaper Vedomosti had serious differences from the first newspapers of other European countries. It was rather not a commercial publication, but served to explain the essence of the sovereign’s policies and his reforms. From the very beginning, the Russian newspaper was a conductor of a certain policy, a propagandist, and sometimes an organizer public opinion in favor government reforms or defense of national independence and self-reliance. The newspaper gave rise to the rapid development of journalism in Russia and contributed to the cultural development of the country. In 1755, the newspaper “Moskovskie Vedomosti” was created under the leadership of the scientist and founder of Moscow University M.V. Lomonosov (1711-1765). IN present time Over 74,000 publications are registered in the Russian register of print media (although less than half are present on the market), and the total circulation of publications is about 5 billion copies.

Future journalists need to understand that this profession is not only creativity, but also a great responsibility for every word written and spoken. Every professional journalist must be able to convey objective information to the audience. It is believed that the main function of journalistic activity is the creation of an information channel between the state and society, as well as the formation of public opinion.

There are three stages of a journalist’s work:

• searching for information (makes up 90% of a specialist’s work; methods of obtaining information are different, mainly by observing the object of research, interviews and working with the necessary documents);
• processing of information (includes analysis of received information, verification of facts, clarification of questions that have arisen, as well as the final formation of material and its editing);
• feedback (the journalist must monitor the opinion of the audience, and if any legal disputes be prepared to defend your point of view in court).

Required professional skills and knowledge

• ability to work with information (find, study, select, analyze, compare and evaluate facts);
• ability to highlight the main thing in a large volume of information;
• the ability to find an explanation with facts;
• the ability to speak or write quickly, competently, easily and at the same time interesting and not trivial;
• ability to handle professional instruments and equipment necessary for the work of a journalist (dictaphone, camera, etc.);
• knowledge of the Media Law and the ability to use it;
• the ability to ask uncomfortable questions and get to the root of the problem;
• professional ethics, tact.

Personal qualities

• the ability to express one’s thoughts accurately and clearly;
• active participation in public life;
• ability to quickly switch from one job to another;
• ability to analyze events and phenomena;
• broad outlook;
• ability to complete work quickly and on time;
• sociability, charm;
• efficiency, perseverance;
• objectivity;
• observation;
• communication skills, ability to work in a team;
• initiative;
• efficiency and hard work;
• endurance, stress resistance.

Pros and cons of the profession

• the work of a journalist is associated with great nervous, emotional, and physical overload, and work in emergency mode;
• irregular working hours.

• interesting, creative profession;
• provides an opportunity to express your point of view through texts and articles;
• often having a flexible work schedule;
• the opportunity to travel, journalists are allowed to go where ordinary people are not allowed;
• meeting and communicating with many famous, talented people.

Place of work

• publishing houses;
• newspapers and magazines;
• TV;
• radio;
• advertising and marketing agencies;
• press services of various organizations.

Salary and career

Salary as of 02/11/2019

Russia 14000—45000 ₽

Moscow 30000—150000 ₽

A journalist’s salary depends on his experience, fame, the topic of his materials, as well as his place of work. Specialists writing on political or economic topics traditionally receive more than, for example, “cultural experts.” However, if the publication has a narrow focus and requires additional knowledge, then the starting income increases. As professionalism increases, wages also increase.

Traditionally, television and radio journalism are more prestigious than working in the press. Most often, the most active and attractive ones make their way onto television (they usually start their careers with cable television), and on the radio the fastest (necessarily with good diction). But most journalists still work in various editorial offices of newspapers, magazines and websites.

All journalists are familiar with the expression: first you work for your name, and only then does the name work for you. Young professionals usually begin their journalism career as a freelance correspondent. And only then, if the journalist manages to properly establish himself, his income will increase sharply and employers will begin to attract him to their publishing houses.

Vertical career looks like this: column editor, department head, production editor, Chief Editor MASS MEDIA.

Horizontal career development looks like working in several media outlets at once.

Do you want to always be in the thick of things and take an active part in public life? Do you know how to find interesting information and convey it to people? Or maybe you simply dream of a profession in which incompatible things would be combined? Then you should definitely turn your attention to the profession of a journalist! A profession that provides enormous opportunities for the manifestation of talent, and which does not tolerate dullness and mediocrity.

Do you want to always be in the thick of things and take an active part in public life? Do you know how to find interesting information and convey it to people? Or maybe you simply dream of a profession that would combine the incompatible - creative scope and narrow boundaries of one topic, dynamism, unpredictability and routine, work at fashion shows and in hot spots, public recognition and censure? Then you definitely need to pay attention to the profession of journalist! A profession that provides enormous opportunities for the manifestation of talent, and which does not tolerate dullness and mediocrity.

Today we will tell you about the features of this profession: You will find out who a journalist is, what personal qualities he must have, what are the advantages and disadvantages of being a journalist, and most importantly, where to get this profession.

Who is a journalist?

A journalist is a media worker specializing in collecting and analyzing information, writing articles, reports or reviews, hosting original television and radio programs, and performing a number of other duties aimed at shaping public opinion.

The first journalists in the history of mankind include heralds, couriers and messengers, who read decrees and rescripts to the people (sometimes accompanying them with author's comments). The name of the profession comes from French word journal (daily publication), which in turn goes back to the Latin diurnalis (daily). In relation to a periodical worker, the word was first used in the 18th century. In Russia, journalism began to take shape in the 17th century, when Tsar Peter the Great began to need political propaganda (that is, informing the people about ongoing reforms in a light favorable to the authorities). As a result, the first periodical printed publication in Russia was created - the Vedomosti newspaper.

If at the dawn of the formation of the profession, it was customary to call a person whose articles appeared in printed publications a journalist, today the profession of a journalist includes a huge number of narrow specializations. Modern journalist- this is a correspondent, and a reporter, and a blogger, and a TV presenter, and a critic, and a photographer, and a filmmaker. And this list can be continued indefinitely.

The professional responsibilities of a journalist, as before, include, first of all, informing the public about the most significant and exciting events taking place in the country and the world. To do this, a journalist, as a rule, goes to the scene of an event, collects all available information, analyzes it (if necessary, conducts his own investigation), and “submits” the resulting material for public review. In addition, the professional responsibilities of a journalist include maintaining feedback from the audience (for example, through editorial mail), as well as engaging independent sources of information.

What personal qualities should a journalist have?

Journalist's work is very rich and multifaceted, so representatives of this profession must, first of all, be resilient, hardworking and scrupulous. In addition, since a journalist has to work with a large number of people and a huge amount of information, he must have such personal qualities as:

• communication skills;
• stress resistance;
• analytical way of thinking;
• good memory;
• ability to listen and draw conclusions;
• determination;
• resourcefulness;
• curiosity;
• competent speech and the ability to coherently express one’s thoughts on paper;
• clarity and courage of thought;
• self-criticism;
• creative thinking;
• courage;
• tolerance;
• developed intuition;
• fast reaction.

The essential qualities of a successful journalist are also: personal charm, the ability to quickly switch from one task to another, a broad outlook, an active life position, the ability to “get to the bottom of a problem” and a predisposition to work with professional devices (dictaphones, photo and video cameras, etc.). d.)

Advantages of being a journalist

• the opportunity to travel often and a lot;
• access to sources of information that are closed to ordinary people;
• meeting and communicating with many talented and famous people;
• flexible work schedule (not always, but often enough);
• participation in various events of both international and local importance;
• the opportunity to work both as a full-time employee of a publication and as a freelance journalist (that is, a freelancer);
• great opportunities for self-realization (up to and including receiving the Pulitzer Prize, the most prestigious award in the field of journalism).

Disadvantages of being a journalist

If speak about disadvantages of the journalistic profession, then first of all it is necessary to note the fact that this is not only interesting, but also very nervous work associated with great emotional and physical overload. Quite often, journalists have to work in emergency mode, when they have to forget about food and normal good rest.

We should also not forget that the work of a journalist very often involves business trips to “hot spots.” This means that in the course of performing their professional duties, journalists have to risk not only their health, but also their own lives.

And most importantly, the journalistic fraternity is replenished every year a huge amount young specialists. But only a few succeed. And this indicates enormous competition (and not always healthy), and the need to constantly work on the level of one’s professionalism and broaden one’s horizons.

Where can you get a job as a journalist?

It is generally accepted that become a journalist is possible only at the Faculty of Journalism at a university. However, practice has shown that anyone who thoroughly understands their business and is able to brightly and interestingly present their knowledge in original articles can become a journalist. In addition, linguists, translators, philologists and philosophers make excellent journalists.

However, if you just graduated from school yesterday, dream of becoming a journalist and you are not afraid of the difficulties of this profession, then the best choice of educational institution for obtaining your chosen specialty may be for you.

Who is a journalist?

Lord of Doom? A creatively minded philologist with a high level of sociability? A romantic, always open to new things and ready to “stay awake for three days for a few lines in the newspaper”?

All answer options are fundamentally untrue. Do you want to know what this profession really is? Read this article carefully.

The truth about journalistic everyday life

The work of an ordinary correspondent these days resembles work on an assembly line.

Information spreads quickly and instantly loses value. Information has to be collected on the run and compiled into ready-made materials (videos, notes, radio broadcasts) at breakneck speed.

Some journalists have the luxury of doing analysis or poring over feature stories, but those lucky few are few.

Their ranks, as a rule, include seasoned employees with extensive experience.

Significant disadvantages of the profession

Perhaps the primary disadvantage of this specialty should be considered the inevitable constant overwork. It consists of:

• stress caused by the need to submit materials to strictly defined deadlines;
• emotional overload (in any mood you have to smile at your interlocutors, you need to look for a delicate approach to each person);
• irregular working hours;
• the burden of other people's problems - you have to talk mainly about conflict situations;
• the need to daily navigate completely unfamiliar areas of knowledge.

In second place in importance is another important disadvantage - very high degree responsibility. Any information, even harmless at first glance, may be objectionable to someone. The dissatisfaction of the offended party is sometimes expressed only in angry calls and complaints, and sometimes in the filing of a serious lawsuit (for example, with a charge of libel).

Finally, the third annoying circumstance. There is very little creativity in modern journalism. All media are dependent to one degree or another - either on government or commercial structures. You have to write and speak not just what you would like, but what is expected in the given format. The format determines not only the content, but also the style of the text.

Now journalists have to master styles that cannot be learned from books - large editorial offices and television and radio companies are moving to the Internet, and the Internet has its own laws.

Advantages of correspondent work

A journalist never lacks communication and vivid impressions. It is easy for him to make interesting and useful contacts. Bypassing the steps of the social ladder, he can easily communicate on equal terms with governors, directors of corporations, and stars.

The correspondent often travels at government expense and attends events and buffets for free, the attendance of which costs other guests a pretty penny. He usually manages to regulate his earnings, increasing income as needed (payment, as a rule, consists of a constant salary and an allowance directly proportional to the amount of material delivered).

After reading the article, did you decide that the advantages of the journalistic profession outweigh the disadvantages? Well, then we invite you to familiarize yourself with our database.

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