Different approaches to journalism

In one article, it is difficult to describe all approaches to research in journalism. Nevertheless, we can identify some of the most important areas of research, which are devoted to a significant number of scientific papers. It seems most logical to start such a description with a sociological approach, which, to one degree or another, is used in most studies in journalism. In the framework of this approach, scientists are trying to study the social role of journalistic organizations and institutions, to identify the complex relationships between producers and consumers of media materials, as well as highlight specific journalistic structures within the media industry, in society, etc.

Sociological studies can become a fundamental scientific basis for the further organization and systematization of research in the field of journalism. A sociological approach allows scientists to study the impact of changes in society on the characteristics of journalistic work. It is difficult to deny the fact that modern structural changes in the economy and society, demographic trends, changes in the management system at the macro and micro levels, the evolution of the principles of political activity lead to fundamental changes in journalism and the media as institutions that must fulfill public functions and at the same time respond audience needs. In this case, the scientific basis of sociology may be the only possible structural basis for studying the evolution of journalism institutions6.

Another important aspect is that sociology was actually the first science in which journalism was studied. It is sociological research in this area that created the idea of journalists, their work and the activities of the media. Scientist sociologists were the first to investigate empirical data on daily activities and hallmarks of the behavior of journalists, on the work of editorial offices and the characteristics of information perception by the audience, etc. From all this we can conclude that the sociological approach to journalism and research within this approach will become the basis of the scientific system and will contribute to a better understanding of the future evolution of the media and journalism as a scientific and practical activity.

One of the most interesting and relatively new approaches to journalism is research within the framework of cultural studies. Such studies address the problems of changing meanings, symbols and meanings in the media and the internal motivation of journalists and audiences to produce and perceive information in a certain way. Culturologists study the features of the perception of information by various social and cultural groups, the influence of the culture of journalists on the nature of the materials produced and analyze the internal culture of organizations. Similar topics are the subject of many comparative studies of various national or political cultures and their impact on the production of journalistic materials.

Very often, such studies are combined with work in the field of linguistics, which allows scientists to identify visible symbols of the author’s cultural identity. The text in such studies is considered as the main subject of research and the source of the necessary data. The process of identifying symbols and metaphors in a text is one of the main ways of analyzing it in order to determine hidden meanings and meanings, as well as to analyze the entire discourse and, directly, its cultural premises.

The modern culture of freedom of speech, liberalism and democracy, as well as the development of technology, have made it possible to implement the well-known principle of freedom of expression for a truly wide range of people. Most journalistic work has now become available to people without special education or work experience. This thesis can be illustrated by the example of the Internet, where you can find many descriptions of events and comments on them created by non-professional journalists, that is, authors who can be attributed to the so-called "citizen journalism". Its development gives rise to debate about the differences between different groups of authors practicing in journalism.

Values ​​and specific professional qualities that form professional education and work experience, corporate media culture and special economic factors are the main arguments that should be taken into account when exploring boundaries in the work of professional and non-professional journalists and identifying the importance of professionalism in this field of activity.

Directly linguistic analysis of texts is also associated with considering them as sources of communication. Researchers carefully analyze the formal and informal structures of the text in order to identify the true message of journalistic material and the methods used to transmit it. Formal structures include grammar, vocabulary used, syntactic structures, etc.