Future of journalism in Kazakhstan
Future of journalism in Kazakhstan
When we say about future of journalism we have to know that today trends of journalism changes in the word. Almost all Kazakhstan journalists think that mass media need improvement of their quality. It can be obtained, first of all, via the development of professionalism of journalists and editors.
The most part of journalistic audience is interested in business journalism. Reporters and editors note that they have serious vacancies in knowledge of financial sector, work of banks, functioning of financial institutions, they poorly know macroeconomics and some of them do not know the economic processes as a whole. The big group of journalists is interested in learning the legal sphere – issues of mass media activity regulation, ways of a legal protection of journalists, court work and legal methodologies. Besides, journalists and editors consider the following themes to be interesting and worth learning: the international standards of journalism, ways of the foreign editions work, international journalism, ecological journalism, political review, coverage of conflicts, social questions. Approximately 60 % of editors and proprietors of mass media noted that they were ready to learn mass media management as they see vacancies in knowledge of this sphere. Editors also noted that they were ready to assist in increase of the educational level in universities/institutes as they were interested in new professionals to come for work – graduates of educational institutions. Media experts, together with the creative requirements, put also economic needs of editions on the first/second places. Journalists and editors noted that there was the necessity to increase a number of advertisers, improve relations with business and create conditions for the long-term relations between editions and business structures. Thereupon, the necessity to improve work of commercial and advertising departments of editions and increase level of their professionalism via the new training programs was specified. At present, only the limited number of editions can afford to attend such master classes due to its high cost and small number of the programs. Besides, editors also spoke for the establishment or development of some special councils which members would be the representatives of editions and business structures, and within its frameworks they could enter into and discuss cooperation.
Only the small number of editions noted that they had acute technical needs, such as improvement of material resources, purchase of new equipment. Regional and small editions usually have such needs, they mark the necessity to update the equipment which they use for work, and one of the purposes is a purchase of their own printing shop due to high prices for the services of the printing shops where they print their publications. In Kazakhstan there are almost no editions which would independently participate in the grant programs of the international donor organizations and offer their own projects directed on the development of different directions of journalism.