"Business Journalism" as a Universal Tool for Training Journalists on How to Improve Financial Literacy of The Population

Section: Education in Journalism

In present-day conditions, when mass media has become one of the most accessible and capacitated tools for the enhancement of financial literacy, ensuring the availability of professional staff ready to solve this problem will significantly increase the efficiency of dissemination of basic financial knowledge among Russians. This is why one of the most important tasks of professional training of journalists is the formation of knowledge, skills, abilities and professionally important qualities that ensure mass media's effective performance of this function. However, the issue of economic and financial education of journalists in Russia is still downplayed. And while the theoretical aspect of the issue has been covered by individual studies of Russian scientists, the practical solutions to the problem are suggested by the author of this article for the first time. In order to assess the opportunities for training our future journalists on how to improve financial literacy of population, the author has conducted an analysis of work programs for the existing or upcoming disciplines that shape in Russian university students of the field of study 42.03.02 “Journalism” the knowledge, skills, abilities and professionally important qualities required for working with financial and economic materials. Based on the results obtained, the article proposes the main solutions to the task of forming in students pursuing a degree in 42.03.02 “Journalism” the general professional competency “Financial Literacy”, which affects the effectiveness of the state policy of disseminating basic financial knowledge among the population through mass media. Based on these results, supplemented by a comparative analysis of educational materials on Business Journalism, currently presented in the Russian educational literature market, it can be concluded that under modern conditions the professional module “Business Journalism” appears to be a tool most fully meeting the goals of training graduates of faculties of journalism on improving financial literacy among Russian citizens. The module is offered to third- and fourth-year students of the Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University, and based on the textbook of the same name.

DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.2.2019.110131

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