The Structure and Components of a Journalist’s Professional Identity

The second part of the monograph “Mass Media as a Mediator of Com­municative-Cultural Memory” considers a complex integrative psychological phenomenon of journalist’s professional identity based on system analysis. It is shown that on the one hand, personal identity accompanies a person’s notions of group/professional affiliation, and in this sense is a necessary element of social identity, and on the other hand, based on the survey results of 261 respondents the authors noted the fact that an individual, even in a democratic state, often has problems in reality caused by the desire to preserve the right to creative individuality and personal freedom. In accordance with the methodology of the study, the whole set of commu­nicative practices, which in the digital age were most widespread in the mass media, was analyzed. It is argued that the trends of development in the XXI century journalism as a convergent and multimedia characterized a gradual transition not only to the use of emerging technological opportunities but also to work within a fundamentally new philosophy of organizing creative activity. The process of identification as some consecutive stages is considered in the context of formation and development based on actual media practice of a pro­fessional culture of journalists. The authors prove that this integrative concept reflects the essence and basic personal characteristics of its bearers: praxeological (professional skills and abilities), mental (ethical and moral and philosophical), as well as deontological intentions as a process of human awareness of not only the abilities or talent but also the adoption of internal corporate standards and values, as well as a constant desire to learn and actively improve mass media skills and abilities. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) The creative and reflective attitude to work, as well as the ability to make decisions and evaluate them simultaneously from two positions — concrete technological and sociocultural — find practical expression in various forms of a professional culture that contribute to the development of the spiritual potential of society and innovative changes in it. Since the novelty of the research carried out by the authors is also due to the public need to study the of identification resources of modern mass media in the organization of intergenerational communication in the digital environment, this part of the monograph separately highlights the aspect of educational and media educational practices. It is noted that the skills and competences of the specialists of the new formation should reflect the work in the conditions of the actively coming Internet as a channel not only for transmission, but also for “packaging” different forms of information, and the convenience of perception of texts in any conditions and on any media, technologically perfect multimedia, multiplied by interactivity — should be the main value of convergent journalism in the new realities of the time. The quickness of content transmission, mobility, universal skills — work in real-time, reconstruction of events and preparation of texts in almost all genres, use of data-journalism and many others — should become as integral characteristics of a creative person as in the Gutenberg era were the skills of effective communication with characters on the phone or the ability to print their texts on a typewriter.

Model Approach to the Digital Transformation of Media

During the crisis periods of modern times, it was seen that the changes in the vectors of practical activity are not only related to the economic sphere of Russia and many other countries but the trends that form the communications market in general and the mass media, in particular, are transformed to the greatest extent. This was especially evident in the first half of 2020 when the world was overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic, and digital technologies defined the essence and prospects of not only professional or interpersonal relations but also the sphere of politics, economics and culture. Therefore, it is logical that in the fifth and final part of the monograph “Mass Media as a Mediator of Communicative-Cultural Memory”, the authors described and systematized the ways of transformation of communicative-cultural memory, characteristic for “analogue” and “digital” generations of the mass audience, as well as highlight­ed the actual problems of forming the priorities of personal awareness of their socio-cultural identity. It is shown that the model of effective transmission of communicative-cul­tural memory to the “digital” generation, developed based on theoretical analysis and empirical data obtained during a decade, differs from other social models primarily by such essential elements as creative and technological and dialogic components of everyday work of subjects of information activity. It is they who determine the effectiveness of generational mutual influence through the media, acting as a mediator. At the same time, the hypothesis that mass media consumers are considered to be of different generation groups is confirmed. It is proved that the rapid and irreversible process of the global Network expansion has transformed many executive intents of the power structures of society in the majority of vital spheres not only socio-political, economic, professional, edu­cational, etc. of individuals’ activity, but, first of all, in the socio-cultural sphere formed by the resources of the communicative memory of the nation. On the example of the mass media of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug and the Russian-speaking press of the United States, it is also proved that one of the fea­tures of the modern development of multicultural countries and regions, as well as individual societies included in them, is the use of a strategy of ethnocultural neo-traditionalism, which is most often reflected in the actualization of historical memory and potential of the past, in focusing on artefacts characterizing certain aspects of communicative-cultural memory, in ethnocultural consolidation, in reproduction, “invention” and “promotion” of traditions, etc. The study concludes that the effective functioning of the media as a mediator of communicative-cultural memory, especially in the context of its transmission to the “digital” generation, involves the use of modelling principles not only to plan but also to predict the effectiveness of this activity. Since the social and managerial approach to the problem of generational mutual influence under conditions of permanent technological transformations is the least studied in media theory, the authors have fixed the basic elements of the model of devel­opment of regional journalism of the digital age in the context of professional culture. These include self-organization of the media community, mobilization and activation of public authorities’ resources, public control through the media and citizen journalists over the effectiveness of criticism of the region’s power structures, changes in the system of journalism training and media education, and some others.

Social and Legal Aspects of Constructing the Identity of Russians in the Media Discourse

Reflection on the scientific level of new media practices and systematization of a positive experience is impossible without identifying and describing the problem components and contradictions that characterize the modern informa­tion space in Russia or its particular regions. First of all, it determines the fact that the first decades of the 21st century marked the beginning of a new stage in the study of rapidly transforming media systems. Secondly, when studying the impact of these processes on the representatives of modern Russian society as a whole and its groups, the digital revolution assumes that not only the mo­bilization resources of social theories and actual practices are defined, but also predetermines the formation of a legal framework for the mass media, which must meet the requirements of time and the demands of society. The third part of the monograph “Mass Media as a Mediator of Communicative-Cultural Memory” is devoted to this problem. The legal field of journalism of the digital age and the legal aspect of the identity of Russians are considered in the context of their mutual influence. The axiological context of ethical and philosophical dominance in modern media texts and the analysis of the role of the media in maintaining positive ethnic identity has allowed the authors to consider several problematic nodes of actual practice at various levels of social dynamics. In particular, it has been proved that since it is through culture, as well as through media culture as a special type of culture, that the individual is socialized and society thus largely regulates the behaviour of individuals and groups, the consideration of culture as an Univer­sum opens wide prospects for research into the functioning of journalism as a social institution under the new conditions. The results of the sociological research carried out by the authors testi­fied that professional activity for the overwhelming number of respondents in conditions of active influence of the global network and possibilities of new information technologies became inseparable with personal intentions. They are reflected in their public discourse, the product of a more or less argumentative discussion of a fact, a problem situation, which is based on an openly broadcast text. It has been proved that modern practice allows the public discourse of a journalist, which influences the formation of primarily communicative memory of media audience representatives, to be differentiated into three levels: com­municative-event, communicative-containing and communicative-predictive. Today, mass media should be not only an information resource but also a platform (channel, tool) for presenting the whole range of opinions and de­veloping various initiatives of active representatives of this or that societies. Information activities of non-professionals in the media sphere, most often referred to as civic journalism, should in practice become an important factor in the development of conventional (contractual) and communication (dialogue) strategies. At the same time, the mythologization of reality, even via ethnic ste­reotypes broadcast by some media and bloggers, is a complex and controversial formation that manifests itself specifically at different levels of mass conscious­ness. It can contribute both to the emergence of new images, different views of reality, and the accumulation of incorrect opinions, false ideas, manifestations of aggression. The result is social, cultural, religious and political myths, sometimes even leading to various antisocial actions. Therefore, it is concluded that professional media activity requires from communicators, along with ethical and legal enlightenment and active life po­sition manifestation, the skills of creative (non-traditional, non-stereotypical) information expression in media texts.

Creative Competencies of Journalists in the Context of Digital Environment and Multimedia Development

In the fourth part of the monograph “Mass Media as a Mediator of Com­municative-Cultural Memory,” the task of presenting, based on content analysis of texts of 24 Russian mass media for the last seven years, a set of algorithms of modern professional and creative activity of journalists was realized. Indeed, the factor of “involvement” in Internet technologies (sometimes even in a 24/7 mode) today has to be considered as one of the main for the overwhelming majority of the active part of a mass audience. Based on highlighting the main mechanisms of constructing discursive identity, the authors have proved that the most important factor in organizing a dialogue with representatives of its various groups is the intersemiotics and multimedia of media texts. By the example of the functional originality of the mass media of the Big Urals macro-region, it is shown that only a bidirectional nature of broadcasting products of truly creative activity of journalists allows “turning” the audience into a mass communication community. Since the algorithms of collective and individual professional-creative activity of the convergent editorial office are most clearly manifested in the implemen­tation of media projects, these algorithms, due to the lack of study in media theory, are separated for analysis. Applying to concrete mass media the model of management of projects from the classical theory of management where certainly there is also an ethical component, and also considering all features of their modern functioning, authors give the following definition to special mass media projects — a complex of information products of different genres devoted to one theme, constructing or solving a certain problem, and also influencing a concrete group of audience for the achievement of the planned purpose. It was specified that a special project can be accompanied by activities (including public nature) and involves the formation of creative strategies to promote effective goal setting. The projects differ from the daily media activities of this kind in that they have clearly defined objectives to be achieved in a certain time, as well as projected effects or concrete results to be achieved with certainty. The data obtained using system analysis of mass media activity presented in this part of the monograph also testifies that transformations of information sphere in interrelation with communicative memory as one of the bases of the given process lead to a priority task of formation and development of information culture of all subjects of activity spheres of modern media without an exception. Comparison of features and mechanisms of transformation of communica­tive-cultural memory in general, characteristic for “analogue” and “digital” gen­erations, as it is proved, makes it possible to identify generation priorities in the awareness of cultural identity, to identify significant differences in understanding of these priorities. It is shown that in the future this allows developing models of social media communication capable of ensuring the effective transmission of communicative-cultural memory to the “digital” generation with the use of relevant for young people communication practices, for example, storytellings. The authors consider the ways of overcoming information dysfunctionality in the context of presenting first of all such discursive features of concrete texts of mass media of the Big Urals macro-region as their public character and reliability. The description of forms and ways to overcome the manipulative intentions of the global Network actors is focused on productive information and creative technologies implemented by communicators from various types of media.

Communicative-Cultural Memory: Mass Media Identification Resources

The first part of the monograph “Mass Media as a Mediator of Communica­tive-Cultural Memory” considers key methodological and theoretical-practical issues that determine the novelty of the study results, as well as the specifics of the research. Communicative-cultural memory is identified as an object of inter­disciplinary study and presented as a special symbolic form of communicating subjects, actualization and translation of cultural meanings, memorial signs of various kinds, extending beyond the experience of individuals or groups. Communicative-cultural memory is identified as an object of interdisciplinary study and presented as a special symbolic form of communicating subjects, actualization and translation of cultural meanings, memorial signs of various kinds, extending beyond the experience of individuals or groups. The accent is made on how new information technologies can be used both as a necessary element of the self-organization of civil society and as a tool to implement the manipulative intentions of actors. The measure and degree of social responsibility of the diversity of subjects of information activity, as well as the information culture of individuals, are the dominant features. It is considered in the monograph in the scientific discourse and is defined by the authors as an actualized social practice of “space”, which includes various meanings, cultural codes, methods and the latest technologies of their production and reproduction, transmission and storage, as well as texts and other forms of materialization of information, usually directly related to the mass media. A systematic analysis of recent practice has allowed the authors to implement an approach that identifies the culture of mass media production in general and the specifics of the profes­sional culture of journalists of the digital age in particular as the most important resources contributing to the effective identification of moral and philosophical values of Russian society. As it is proved, as system-forming factors of optimi­zation of media processes management, they should include such components as the professional and educational level of employees, creativity, technological and performing discipline, system use of possibilities of all variety of sources and information resources, orientation on dialogue character of created texts and some others. Professional culture as a concept with a creative meaning implies a search for the dominant features characterizing its level of development, which requires identification of certain criteria and indicators. The normative, profession­al-communication and social-personal characteristics of a digital-era journalist can serve as sufficiently clear “markers”, as substantiated, which can be defined also as a more or less successful model of human realization in the profession.