Professionalisation of science journalism in Russia: community, knowledge, media
1 analyze the phenomenon of science journalism in Russia in conceptual frameworks sociology professions and sociology of science. The article focuses on the genealogy of the professional community from the soviet time to nowadays. Original typology of science journalism included in the content of the article. The study bases on the empirical data that collected in the process of work in the collective research project about Popular science in Russia. Soviet time gave the start for the active development science journalism. Famous magazines ("Science and Life", "Chemistry and Life", "Nature", "Technology for youth") became the generator of science popularization in USSR and were the area for the establishment of the professional community science journalists. In XXI century new stage of science popularization has been started because Russian science gave financial support and internet discover new opportunities for the getting additional audition. International mode "Popular science" appeared in context of the Russian science popularization. New Popular Science internet resources were created during first decade of 2000th. Government initiated radical reform of education and science and needed in places for propaganda and discussing round problems of reforms. Experts discussed about several aspects of the development Russian science in new conditions. There are two epistemic cultures in contemporary Russian science journalism. "Classic culture" inherited many features soviet tradition of the science knowledge popularization. "Medialised culture" is growing now and combines elements of global phenomenon Popular Science and media entertainment. New concept of science popularization is "edutainment". The edutainment approach assumes that modern mass audition can't to percept serious science information in traditional forms because contemporary pop culture base on easy forms of visual interactive informational content. Interactive Popular Science waits from audition more deep involvement in the interaction with science knowledge and experiments. New type of science museums give us possibility participate in practical science experiments and even "produced" personal scientific discovery. New Popular Science magazines attracts new readers to colorful illustrations, unpredictable content and stories about fashionable devices. Youtube and other visual opportunities of web open access for new ways to the distributing science knowledge. For example, global conference network Ted (Technology Entertainment Design) is new format of exchange popular science information. TED internet resource contents a lot of short bright video presentations in several disciplines: from biotechnology to ancient human history. In Russia Postnauka.ru is new media project with the same idea and format. It is new direction for the development innovations forms of science journalism. Russian community of science journalists has active social position about important problems of the distribution science knowledge. They are experts in complicated situations plagiarism and parascience and pseudo-science. This article explains why science journalists have expert power in these problems. A lot of professional science journalists have PhD-level degrees and can be experts in different sciences. Science journalism is interesting object for study in the perspective of sociology of science and sociology professions.
Keywords
популяризация науки, журналистика, экспертиза, профессионализация, popular science, journalism, expertise, professionalisationAuthors
Name | Organization | |
Abramov Roman N. | National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow, Russian Federation) | socioportal@yandex.ru |
References

Professionalisation of science journalism in Russia: community, knowledge, media | Tomsk State University Journal of Philosophy, Sociology and Political Science. 2014. № 1(25).