The journalistic ethos: from technique to a critical reflexion

Abstract

For decades, journalism was seen as a simple practice (an occupation), which could exist without the need for specialized academic training. In this paper we defend the university as the most suitable way for the challenges and demands of the profession, remembering that it implies a critical distance in relation to the concrete conditions of professional practice. Thus it is argued that the journalistic ethos, based on a pragmatic attitude towards reality, will deal also with the critical requirements that characterize a knowledge theoretically oriented. This problem repeatedly taken up in various discussions (vocational versus academic knowledge, theory versus practice, reflective capabilities versus performative skills) is directly related with a reflection on the nature of the profession.