JOURNALISTIC PROFESSIONALISM: MILESTONES OF FORMATION

Despite the fact that the circle of the first newspapermen was variegated in composition, as early as the 17th century. publication of a periodical imposes serious professional obligations on the person who took on this responsible matter. For example, in France there was a corporately approved status, which stated that printers and publishers should receive a good education, know Latin and Greek. I also needed a certificate giving the right to engage in publishing. Of course, before the concepts of “journalistic profession” or “journalistic professionalism” appeared, it was still far away, but some of the professional characteristics are obvious here.

Important changes occurred in Europe when it entered the “Age of Enlightenment” - this is how the period of the end of the XVII – XVIII centuries is called. They were associated with a serious modification of the cultural situation of the era. The sacred text with its sacral attitude to the word gradually gave way to the primacy of the scientific text, based on a reasonable comprehension of reality, on experience, helping to learn the laws of nature and society. It is believed that at this time knowledge acquires an information form, ceases to be something a priori given to a person who, following Renaissance traditions, begins to read the world like a book, but not just read: there is a feeling that reality can be improved.

The development of journalistic professionalism took place as dynamically during this period as the formation of the press itself. Journalist-professional beginning of the XVIII century. in Western Europe was significantly different from his brother, who lived in America at the end of the XIX century.

If you try to identify the leading trend that characterizes changes in the journalist's profession that took place in the 18th – 19th centuries, when the press system was formed everywhere and the exchange of information began to acquire an international character, then it can be labeled with the words “complication” and “differentiation”.

Indeed, such a phenomenon as personal journalism demanded professional universalism from a person. For example, the magazine Review, which was produced by the famous English writer Daniel Defoe (1660–1731), was exclusively a product of the work, talent, and asceticism of this writer and publicist. Defoe himself wrote materials on political, commercial and social topics, being at the same time a reporter, a panellist, a commentator. He considered his ability to select facts and use them, as well as possession of a rich vocabulary, ability to critically evaluate his own work as his journalistic merit. Defoe was no stranger to political activity, which brought him serious trouble, and then forced him to become the head of the secret service of the British Prime Minister (to accept this proposal the writer prompted the difficult financial situation of his family). Richard Style (1672–1729), also considered one of the founders of English journalism, was not only the editor, but also the main author of his weekly journal Tatler (“Chatter”). Researchers studying the history of England beginning of the XVIII century. (it was then that the bloom of personal journalism was observed), they note that journalists, along with poets, writers, and pamphletists, are among professional writers. The core of professionalism and then considered the possession of the word, inseparable from political engagement.

French Enlightenment Encyclopedists in the middle of the XVIII century. also addressed the problem of the specifics of journalistic work. According to them, there are two types of journalist: one shines with "reflected light", reviewing and commenting on the novelties of literature, science, art, etc .; the other has enough talent and courage to serve progress.

Serving the truth becomes the leitmotif of the works of those French journalists who created their works during the years of the French Revolution in 1789, when the rise of personal journalism was most vivid. Jean-Paul Marat (1743–1793), publishing at his own expense the famous newspaper “Ami du ashes” (“Friend of the People”), acted both as an editor, and as an author, and as a proofreader, and as a metranpagent. Such a diverse activity was made possible thanks to the literary skill and oratorical pathos of Marat.

History confirms that periods of the highest social uplift, when extraordinary personalities are required for unusual times, have become the high points of personal journalism. Such a person was an Englishman Thomas Paine (1737–1805) - a participant in several revolutions, a statesman, a philosopher, a journalist, whose pamphlets dispersed in enormous circulations, and their resonance in Europe and America was exceptionally great. Payne became famous not only as a political publicist, but also as an organizer of the periodical press, which won a huge audience and gained solid prestige.

Enlightenment ideals are also reflected in the views on the press by M.V. Lomonosov, who saw in journalistic work a special kind of activity - creative and aimed at serving the truth. A curious antithesis arises when comparing views on the public mission of a journalist expressed in the polemic of the Russian enlightener N.I. Novikov and Catherine II. For Novikov, the main task of the journalist is to critically study reality, correct it, bring up a useful member of society, and Catherine II demands from the writer loyalty to the sovereign, peacefulness, and goodwill.

The similarity of Russian journalism with the world press of the Enlightenment century was expressed in the fact that with the appearance of private periodicals, writers became increasingly active in its work. The words "writer", "writer", "writer", "journalist" were perceived as synonyms. The attitude to journalism as literature and the corresponding understanding of the role of a journalist was inherent in many Russian authors of the late 18th — early 19th centuries. This situation will gradually change - both in Russia and in Western Europe.

The relationship between words and politics was perceived differently. A.N. Radishchev, who in 1798 called journalists “historians of his time,” emphasized the connection between word and deed in the struggle for people's democracy; in the view of the Decembrists, literature was inseparable from civil asceticism, representatives of the official ideology saw in the development of literature the result of the beneficent activity of the state. A dilemma of global significance appears here: either a journalist acts as one who maintains the status quo and contributes to maintaining the stability of the social system, or he acts as its critic, adversary, contributing not only to changing the existing state of affairs, but also to the destruction of this system. This results in a different understanding of professionalism.

By the beginning of the XIX century. journalism was a complex, multidisciplinary structure. Newspaper technology became more complex, the editorial division of labor became more extensive. The increase in advertising (announcements) created the basis for the commercialization of the press. The XIX century will reveal two concepts that reflect different ideas about the appointment of a journalist. According to one, the journalist is a political fighter, a social philosopher, a writer who is called to highlight and comprehensively disclose the most important problems of reality, to defend his point of view without fear of his pursuers, not being afraid of poverty and hunger. According to another, a journalist is something of an entrepreneur, emanating primarily from considerations of advantage, considering a newspaper or magazine primarily as a source of income. Each concept implied its own requirements for a professional journalist, and each was embodied in editorial practice.

The history of Western European countries is replete with examples of exceptional journalistic dedication, dedication to ideals, complete dedication. The Englishman William Cobbet (1763–1835), imprisoned for publishing sharp critical speeches, showed incredible creative activity while in prison: there he wrote and published 364 letters and essays on political topics [5]. Another Englishman, Richard Carlyle (1790–1843), and then his wife and sister were arrested for publishing the works of Thomas Paine. The Italian Silvio Pellico (1790–1854) was imprisoned for 15 years in one of the gloomiest Austrian fortresses, where he wrote autobiographical notes. This list could be continued.

The benefit of the fatherland, the heroic deed in the name of the people and their good - these concepts largely determined the journalistic credo of the Russian Decembrists. “The estate of state people” called journalists A.S. Pushkin. A harmonious system of ideas about journalistic professionalism can be seen in the works of VG Belinsky, who linked the characteristics of human activity with the requirements of the time, emphasized the role of personal characteristics, abilities, inclinations, vocations. So, speaking of N.A. Field, Belinsky repeatedly emphasizes the restlessness of the nature of the journal, admiring his vocation, talent, abilities. The personality of the journalist, his philosophical-aesthetic and literary-critical views interest N.G. Chernyshevsky. He believed that the worldview of the lead author of a periodical determines the party orientation of the latter. The emphasis on the ideological and political line of journalistic creativity did not detract from the importance of literary skill, contributing to the strengthening of the aesthetic load of the text.

But the period under review gives many examples of a different kind. People who are far from literary creation associate themselves with newspaper and magazine business, with the spread of news. Many of them are beginning to occupy key positions in an expanding information and communication system.

Far from journalism was the first publisher of The Times, the newspaper that embodies the English way of life, John Walter. The manufacturer, haberdasher and banker became the founders of the newspaper "Scotsman" (it is still published in Scotland). As for those who were at the forefront of the news services, Paul Julius Reiter, the creator of the now-global Reuters news agency, English author D. Reed, writes: “Live Reuters two generations earlier, in England of the 18th century, he would have sold cotton the main product of the industrial revolution. If he went into business at the beginning of the 20th century, he could successfully become an oilman. He gave preference to news, because market demand increased for them more than ever before ”[6].

Western European literature, responsive to the events of modern life, did not leave without attention the fact that a special type of journalist appeared on the social arena — a person who attained personal success or recognition at all costs, power, money.

In the works devoted to the press and saw the light in the XIX century, the financial dependence of the journalist was considered as a factor limiting the freedom of the press. The statement of V. Weitling that “people write in order to live, because one cannot live without money to write” [7], has become famous. "Trade direction" rooted in Russian journalism. The subject of discussion was the problem of payment of copyright work. Some saw this as a natural influence of time and a way to improve the professional quality of publications; for others, the very idea of ​​buying and selling literary work was unacceptable.

In the XIX century. Not only did the functions of a publisher, editor and a writing journalist be clearly distinguished, but the division between a fighter journalist and a journalist entrepreneur intensified. Differentiation of the social roles of the journalist in the XIX century. was very intense. For example, in America at the beginning of the 19th century, along with the development of parties and the expansion of party struggle, “abusive journalism” emerges, in the context of which a well-defined variety of reporters thrive — people who are able to defend their case not only in words, but also in fist fights. The set of professional qualities of an employee of a newspaper and a journal has changed in the course of the formation of a “new journalism”.

One of the distinguishing features of the new journalism (in particular, in its American version) was that the fundamental function of the newspaper was the dissemination of information. The prevailing place was not to belong to the former newspaper, containing mainly “views and opinions” (viewspaper), but a new one — the emerging newspaper “news” (newspaper). The “verb”, designed to “burn people's hearts”, gave way to a fact, a frankly party journalist - to an outwardly impartial reporter, whose professional skills turned out to be directly dependent on the ability to “feel” the sensation, find “hot” news and deliver them to the editor in a timely manner. The pursuit of sensation was not an invention of the XIX century: for example, the German "flying sheets" of the XV – XVI centuries. teeming with miracles, epidemics, healings. But it was only at the turn of the 20th century, when the press began to become a mass, marginal efficiency, readiness for a reporter's feat, which sometimes required a lot of risk, and sometimes equally unprincipled, were replicated as a standard of excellence. Of course, it would be an unforgivable mistake to completely equate the report with “keyhole journalism”, and besides, detective techniques of newspaper work more than once helped to reveal the truth. But the negative features of the new journalism (as well as the personal one) remind of themselves to this day.

The confrontation between the "opinion journalism" and the "journalism of fact" in their extremely pointed, pure form does not at all exhaust the problem of professionalism. Between these advantages there is a huge middle space in which there are numerous opportunities for everyone to determine their place in the system of editorial division of labor, to find their niche in the reflection of reality and their own way of creative expression.

The nineteenth century gave the differentiation of journalistic work distinct forms. In many countries, the division of the actual journalistic activity and administrative management of the press was fixed. The trend towards specialization of editorial staff has increased. The staff of major British newspapers of the mid XIX century. It included those who collected domestic news, receiving a small amount of money for their work, and correspondents abroad. At the end of the century, when some British publications turned into powerful enterprises (for example, the main issue of The Times, which had 20–28 pages, was supplemented with a number of applications of a diverse nature), there was a need to involve specialists in literature, science, finance, etc. d. In the 80s. the same century, the staff of the American newspaper "Ward" included 1,300 people: later economists, connoisseurs of sports, secular and female subjects, artists came to the editorial office. The latter is especially significant: painted screensavers, illustrations in the XIX century. (although they were used in the press before) reinforced the visual expressiveness of the newspaper text and gave a new, creative tone to the work of those involved in the design of newspapers and magazines.

Researchers often associate the development of analytical journalism with an internal editorial specialization, which is different from universal journalism , which did not immerse in the causes and effects of events.

It is obvious that the analytical method in journalism is inseparable from scientific thinking, from the skills of a deep, research approach to facts and phenomena. The XIX century with its growing pragmatism, irrationalism, and also with the desire to affirm in society the relations of "mechanical solidarity", the ideal of which is the efficient work of the factory, did not become the era of the triumph of reason. But the continuity of cultural development has retained a person to further comprehend the laws of nature and society and the formation of their attitude to the world based on knowledge of it. Strengthened in the XIX century. The sociological nature of knowledge has highlighted in a new way the role of fact in the context of a systemic attitude to reality. Both were reflected in journalism.

In the works of domestic and foreign journalists who have become the property of history, a chain of interaction between fact, analysis and evaluation is clearly visible. Of course, this chain could have broken, when fact and evaluation acquired a self-sufficient value, and the analytical component “fell out” from the author's intention, and from the text structure. But in a truly research, analytical work, all three components were in balance. Did this mean that literary prowess receded into the background? There is no doubt that the text can be compiled, following the standard rules. However, it is also certain that only a creative individuality can give it originality, uniqueness, largely dependent on the measure of the ratio of its various parts, on the ability of the correspondent not only to think correctly and formulate a thought for himself, but also to find those verbal expressions of meaning that bring the author's idea to the reader, giving it a special persuasiveness. And, perhaps, it is analytical journalism that most fully concentrates in itself the unity of word and thought inherent in human nature.

Thus, we are faced with another type of professional - a research journalist. It is impossible to attribute its appearance only to the western or only to the Russian tradition. In the XIX century.To journalistic activities are involved, for example, African thinkers. So, the West African philosopher, the linguist-polyglot E.U. Blyden, collaborating in a number of publications, used the methods of the analytical press to present his concept of the special role of Africa in the development of world civilization. The emergence of analytical journalism acts as a global trend, which, however, could not always be fully realized for various political and socio-cultural reasons.

Итак, спектр журналистского профессионализма в XIX в. был уже достаточно насыщенным, и тенденции, о которых мы вели разговор, получили во многих случаях персонифицированное выражение. Среди зарубежных редакторов-реформаторов снискал славу Эмиль де Жирарден (1806–1881) – один из родоначальников массовой прессы, произведший коренную коммерческую трансформацию французской газеты и ставший прообразом руководителя-торговца. Он принимал журналиста на работу в полном соответствии с существовавшими тогда условиями рынка. В английской печати с ним в определенной степени сопоставимы братья Альфред и ГарольдХармсворты, чья предпринимательская активность удостоится официального призвания: оба они получили титулы лордов (пэрами станут и другие магнаты прессы в Англии). В Америке подобное положение занял Джозеф Пулитцер.

В конце XIX века в США центральной фигурой стал репортер, готовый на персональный подвиг ради необычной, сенсационной информации. Среди журналистов «выдающегося поступка» можно назвать американку Элизабет Кохран (Нелли Блай), обогнувшую земной шар за 72 дня (а не за 80, как герой известного романа ЖюляВерна), и многих других. Сочетание личной смелости и глубоких знаний было характерно для корреспондента английской «Дейли Телеграф» Эмиля Джозефа Диллона(1854–1933): он учился в нескольких университетах, знал европейские и восточные языки. Информация, полученная им, оценивалась не только как оперативная, но и как достоверная. Современники считали, что Диллон соединил в себе талант журналиста, ученого и государственного деятеля.

Признавая открытую партийность журналистской (в том числе редакторской) работы К. Маркса и Ф. Энгельса, нельзя забывать о том, что их творческому методу было в полной мере свойственно рассмотрение фактов под углом зрения научной теории. Взаимосвязь отбора фактов, их анализа и – что очень важно – их синтеза отличают публицистическое мастерство К. Маркса и Ф. Энгельса. По мнению ученых, детально исследовавших их творческое наследие, профессионализм в контексте марксистской теории печати во многом связан с тем, что «журналист выступает всегда как исследователь, социолог, аналитик, сообщая о фактах, анализируя, сопоставляя их и обрабатывая, обобщая, абстрагируя из конкретных единичных событий, ситуаций их особенное и всеобщее содержание и выражая его в понятиях, общезначимых заключениях, выводах и предложениях»[8]. Этот исследовательский компонент профессионализма приобретает особую актуальность, когда речь заходит о журналистике «второго уровня» – то есть, аналитической.

In Russia, the XIX century. N.G.Chernyshevsky and N.A. Dobroliubov was called upon to study the facts, to draw conclusions from them “for the mutual benefit of history and theory”, to present the results of their analysis, “and not private scores, not factors and dividers” [9].

XIX столетие продолжило еще одну устойчивую международную тенденцию, существенную для понимания особенностей журналистского профессионализма: пресса продолжала оставаться сферой приложения общественно-литературного дарования писателей и поэтов, которые выступали в качестве редакторов, издателей и сотрудников газет и преимущественно журналов. Например, новое качество французской журналистики на стыке веков проявилось в том, что она в ряде случаев тесно смыкалась с литературой. Это вполне справедливо и для российской печати всего периода ее развития. Есть точка зрения, что по уровню литературного исполнения англосаксонский и германский журнализм на рубеже столетий несколько уступал своим зарубежным собратьям. Но и он содержит немало примеров, подтверждающих плодотворность профессионального участия писателей в прессе. Журналистское мастерство раскрывало в данном случае несколько иную свою сторону, впрочем, привычную для периодической печати: текст приобретал художественно-образный характер, предполагающий особый «набор» способностей его создателя – возрастала роль интуиции, воображения, усиливалась образная нагрузка слова.

На рубеже XIX–XX вв. как в Европе, так и в Америке получает развитие журналистское образование, что еще раз доказало: эта профессия прочно заняла свое место в системе общественного разделения труда.

Первая половина XX в. (особенно период между первой и второй мировыми войнами) стала временем дальнейшего усложнения структуры журналистской профессии . В определенной степени это было связано с совершенствованием технологии средств массовой информации. Так, в 30-е гг. в типографии американской газеты «Нью-Йорк таймс» насчитывалось 1800 рабочих, в ее редакции – 616 сотрудников, в конторе – 953 человека, в правлении – 84[10]. Появление телефона и его широкое использование в прессе динамизировало репортаж («рипортинг») и вызвало к жизни пресс-стенографирование и «рирайтинг», то есть редакционную подготовку к печати материалов, полученных от корреспондентов. Изменившаяся техника иллюстрации повысила престиж фоторепортера. По мнению одного из крупнейших пресс-магнатов Франции Жана Пруво (в 1931 г. он основал газету «Пари суар»), изображение стало властелином времени. Этому немало способствовала возможность быстро передавать по телеграфу снимки с места события.

Внесло свою лепту в журналистское разделение труда развитие радиовещания. «Разговорные газеты», «разговорная журналистика» вели поиск своего лица, конкурируя с прессой, вырабатывая особый профессиональный стиль. После организации первых публичных сеансов телевизионного вещания электронное средство информации постепенно добавило новые краски в палитру журналистской профессии.

XX century. по-новому высветил проблему соотношения факта и мнения в журналистском творчестве. Отсутствие в журналистике «поля точного знания» вызвало озабоченность у наиболее серьезных сотрудников и исследователей западной прессы. Однако профессионализация журнализма, придание ему «антисубъективного» характера, предусматривавшего опору на факты, беспристрастность, правдивость, была чрезвычайно трудно достижима.

Further commercialization of the press, its monopolization, mass production, the formation of the information market increased the material dependence of the journalist in the West.

Ideological delimitation and political differentiation in the context of confrontation between capitalism and socialism, the emergence of the national liberation movement, the emergence of fascist regimes, the growth of the military threat and the outbreak of the Second World War led to an almost universal deepening of the politicization of the profession, strengthening its propaganda principles. The political commitment of a significant number of journalists increased, even if they refused to admit it openly. A clear definition of class, party position for many turned into a central, system-forming element of their activities. The journalist had to choose his place in the balance of social forces, to determine which side he was fighting. Not everyone was able to resist the circumstances, not to become a performer of someone else's will, not to be a victim of social mythology. The word continued to be a weapon of struggle.

Second half of the 20th century did not give an exhaustive answer to the question of whether there is a universal definition of journalistic professionalism. However, there is no doubt the presence of stable features that distinguish journalism from other activities. They are devoted to the content of the following sections of the chapter, which is subordinated not so much to historical as to logical analysis of our topic.