Evolutionary Trajectories of the Development of the Scientific Knowledge on Journalism. Germany, America, St. Petersburg

Abstract

In 2022, one hundred years have passed since the opening of the world's first dissertation council for awarding academic degrees in the field of journalism. The remarkable anniversary gives a reason for considering the ways in which the development of academic research in this field has been going on. The authors aim to trace the trajectories of the journalism researches on international and national scales. In methodological terms, the development of research cognition is understood as a continuous process of an evolutionary nature, and it acquires distinct features of national and cultural identity. Taking into account the latter circumstance, the article pays special attention to the experience of Germany, the USA and Russia, in particular the research traditions of St. Petersburg University. Based on the review of the latest literature and information that appeared in library catalogs during the digitalization of the funds, as well as taking into account previously published documentary sources, the history of the formation of the knowledge on journalism in a broad transnational perspective was tracked and the logic of the methodological paradigm shift was revealed in the field of journalism research. The stages of formation and the current state of the St. Petersburg Scientific School of Journalism and Mass Communications — the oldest in Russia — are described. Its evolution and current practice reflect the characteristic features of the national research tradition. Special attention is paid to the experience of project organization of scientific activities at St. Petersburg State University and the results obtained over the past ten years. In order to promote the ideas, views and methodological approaches shared by scholars, the ongoing series of monographs “St. Petersburg School of Journalism and Mass Communications” was established in 2018.