Political information and communication between political actors; in that part, which is measured by the categories of communication, this includes political journalism.
The conclusion suggests itself that with all its content, political science participates in the formation of the object of political science of journalism. Taking into account the structure of political science, we can name the main areas of study in political science journalism.
- Ideological and conceptual components. The objects of study include the position of political science of journalism in the system of knowledge about society and journalism. These tasks are solved in this chapter of the textbook. The press and politics are exclusively mobile phenomena, and, accordingly, conceptual ideas about them cannot exist and be regarded as a kind of theoretical “fossil”: they also change, collide with each other, give rise to new views and doctrines. In this regard, it is important to trace the various traditions of political analysis of journalism that have developed in the history of world and domestic scientific thought. On the one hand, this gives stability to modern theories, on the other, it shows the breadth and ambiguity of scientific thinking in the area of interest to us.
One of the central categories of analysis in political science, as can be seen from the above, is political culture. Accordingly, the focus of our attention is on the political culture of the journalist. In a sense, studying everything is even more important than the objective conditions of professional activity, because ultimately the human factor has a decisive influence on the process and results of journalistic work. Objective conditions are mainly determined by the place and role of journalism in the political system of society. Here, it is equally necessary to develop optimal models of the press as a socio-political institution, and to study the actual circumstances of its practice in real historical time.
- Political journalism. The most visible for society, as well as for the media workers themselves, the relationship between the press and politics is expressed in the coverage of political life. As an area of professional subject specialization, political journalism is distinguished by its own content (subject matter, material); it is built in different ways depending on the channels of information (print, television, radio, network publications, etc.), and involves certain authorial forces in its orbit. Political journalism is based on a broad regulatory (legal and ethical) framework, which is somewhat different from the one that regulates mass information activities in general. The psychology of political journalism deserves a special study, in which mainly two streams of knowledge merge – from social and political psychology and from the psychology of journalism. Finally, political journalism exists in the form of works, in the preparation of which sources of information inherent in political journalism, genres, literary and stylistic techniques, etc. are used. The political press has its own audience, the composition and requests of which are also subject to theoretical and professionally applied analysis.
- Research and educational methods. The press supplies valuable material for the study of political practice, which is regularly used by researchers, both representatives of academic science and applied organizations (centers of political analysis), and editorial staff – analysts, observers, leaders of monitoring groups. Students of higher education also turn to the study of politics based on media materials when they carry out research assignments. Depending on the tasks and level of research, it is advisable to use one or another analysis method. The same can be said about another research situation – when political journalism becomes the object of study. The political science of journalism also includes consideration of the system of education of personnel, their advanced training, methods of teaching the skills of political journalism.
