THE MEDIA – INFORMATION TRENDS AND THE JOURNALISM

Abstract

The process of informing is becoming one of the fundamental social
processes, and the true, fast, accurate and complete information is a
foundation of the democratic society and the political participation
The method of creating information has become a subject of the
academic interest and social practice as individuals from various
spheres, such as politics, business and culture are affected by it.
Journalism in Macedonia can not be yet called an established
profession. Namely, in Macedonia, as opposed to the U.S. for
instance, anyone can be a journalist, regardless of his or her education.
There are interdisciplinary studies in journalism at the Law Faculty in
Skopje, which have been existing for the last 30 years, but for which
there is relatively little interest.
These trends have made important the professional training of
journalists in order to be able to interpret social reality. Journalists
have realized that it is essential to have a continuous journalist
training through innovation of knowledge and a constructive practice
in media. Journalism is less and less tied to talent and skill, and more
to formal education. Many journalists do not have formal education.
The journalist power and dignity of profession is directly correlated to
the intensity of media’s influence in modern society as well as the
possibility to manipulate public opinion - a possibility which is not
vested in any other profession, not even in the government itself.
Citizens nowadays (readers, viewers, listeners) are much more
exposed to journalist interpretation of reality, than to factors that onesidedly convey individual positions.
The shape of this profession is changing and with it is also
changing the status and the evaluation of journalism in social
frameworks. Journalists have become an influential, privileged and
untouchable elite. There are various interpretations and theories that
differ based on the idea of the role of journalism in society as well as
on the quality and type of accountability that journalists have. Despite
the fact that often journalism is accused of impairing the consensus
which is necessary for the functioning of democracy, it still secures a
forum for the different and opposing opinions. This is a result of the
development and the use of new technologies in modern journalism
(the intellectual level of the audience and the importance of media in
society). The theories that demystify the social role of journalism
differ in two main aspects. According to one aspect journalism has a
passive role (gate keeping), while the advocates of the second aspect
see journalism as an active factor and a spokesperson of the socially
neglected groups – it investigates and reveals scandals and problems.