INTRODUCTION

As is commonly believed, in any case the first step is difficult. Those who study and teach practical journalism are convinced of the truth of this judgment from their own experience. A novice journalist has to realize that this profession was formed long before it was introduced to editorial work, that it has strict standards and unshakable rules, that author's ideas, factual material and form of the work are interconnected by the laws of harmony, which cannot be crossed without the risk of writing something unsuitable for publication, although bright in form. But a sheet of paper or a magnetic tape seems indulgent for any experiments with working methods or presentation style ... However, all this frightening mass of concepts and requirements unfamiliar to the student is completely comprehensible, accessible. True, the ascent to full-fledged knowledge and skill is a long, phased process, full of mistakes and doubts. In this case, the main transformations should occur in the structure of thinking and the psychology of the student himself. Before becoming a journalist by position, you need to become a journalist on attitudes, ways of perceiving the surrounding life, profession and yourself in a professional environment. This idea is a pivotal one for our textbook.

Until now, university libraries provide students with manuals published in previous decades. Most of them are comprehensive and useful books. But, first of all, their historical and, figuratively speaking, methodical time is long gone, the social environment, the media system, the reporter work methodology, and the nature of university education have become different. Secondly, in the most common textbooks, priority was given to the forms of materials, in particular the genres of publications. Today we have to argue with this tradition. In addition to the fact that reference texts, a kind of patterns in the creative business cannot exist (and collections of such genre “standards” have recently been published), it must be admitted that form is a consequence of the specific content and methodology of journalistic work in each individual case. Schema in the presentation of a heterogeneous, always unique life material can only ruin creativity in the bud, no matter what technological advantages it may be based on. Anyone familiar with at least the recent history of printing remembers the daily flashing of photographic portraits “on the production theme”, shaped like a pattern: if a nurse, then look at the syringe raised above his head, if he is a turner, then with a similar look studying a freshly cut detail, if a physicist, then similar to a turner and a nurse, but only in his hands is some kind of mysterious plate ... It is useless to ask who the author of the picture is, because it is destroyed by the impersonal shape of the “correct” form, as well as its hero. Meanwhile, it is the author who is the key figure of journalistic activity at all its stages, including the choice of a topic, the search and collection of factual material, its interpretation and interpretation for the audience, including, among other things, the targeted choice of the form of the work.

So, the correspondent, the bearer of professional qualifications, psychology and ethics should be in the semantic center of the discipline "Fundamentals of Creative Activity of a Journalist". The authors of the textbook proceed from the fact that in higher education not a specialty is formed with a graduate “attached” to it, but an expert with a diverse and in each case unique qualification.

The textbook is intended for undergraduate students, where, according to the educational standard and practice of teaching, the beginnings of professionalism are laid. In the future, they will develop in the form of narrow specialization (industry, genre, media, etc.), but at first all students should master the universal complex of knowledge and skills necessary for a successful debut in editorial offices.

None of the chapters of the textbook does not pretend to an exhaustively full disclosure of its subject (is it possible at all - an exhaustively complete knowledge?). An inquisitive student will find in the special scientific literature and in the lectures of the teachers both the answers to his questions and various additional material.

Undoubtedly, in every region, the activities of the media are distinguished by local traditions and colors, which clarify and “ground” common professional truths and rules. Finally, books for journalists, even textbooks - especially in the discipline dealing with creative practice - should not be built as a collection of petrified, eternal truths. First, due to the critical nature of journalistic thinking, no professional will still believe in their invincibility. Secondly, he will be right, because time and experience cast doubt on even the most undoubtedly true views and technologies of labor. For this reason, there is no need to look for dogmatized provisions in the textbook: the material assumes not only the addition and enrichment of the educational process, but also its polemical, debatable reading.

The basic organization for the creation of the textbook was the Faculty of Journalism at St. Petersburg State University. Authoritative experts from other educational and scientific centers are also involved in writing individual chapters. This is done both in order to use the best author's powers, and to reflect in the content of the book the widest possible picture of the experience of the media, theoretical schools and directions, teaching methods currently available. With the same purpose, in addition to the Russian material, ideas, concepts and empirical data accumulated in the theory and practice of foreign journalism are considered.

The authors of the sections: Introduction - Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor S.G. Korkonosenko (St. Petersburg State University), "The components of the journalistic profession" - Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor S.M. Vinogradova (St. Petersburg State University), Journalistic Knowledge of the World - Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor G.V. Lazutina (Moscow State University), “Methods of collecting information” - Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor B.N. Lozovsky (Ural State University), “Reflection of reality in the text” - Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor B.Ya. Mizonzhnikov (St. Petersburg State University), “System of journalistic genres” - Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor L.Ye. Kroychik (Voronezh State University), “Legal and ethical culture of a journalist” - S.G. Korkonosenko , “Technological factor in the work of a journalist” –– candidate of philological sciences, associate professor S.A. Mikhailov (St. Petersburg State University), "The cooperation of the editorial staff with the audience" - Ph.D., associate professor TD. Orlova (Belarusian State University).