CHALLENGES FOR MODERNIZATION OF JOURNALISM EDUCATION IN RUSSIAN UNIVERSITIES

The article deals with the challenges of journalism education in modern Russia and the necessity for its modernization. It analyzes the causes of education crisis and the ways of tackling the identified problems. The authors argue the significance of practice-oriented learning (PBL) and the advanced study of media production by the future journalists. PBL generates different competences of future specialists in terms of developing professional, social and personal values. Like many news outlets, journalism education programs are evidently unprepared to respond to such profound structural transformation of the environment. The study indicates that there is a crucial demand in expanding technology training and changing media emphasis tracks. Strenuous PBL approaches allow students to skill-up quickly so that they can spend more time applying skills to real life situations. Employability is a central concern of the current study. Educators owe it to their students to give them the skills to acquire a satisfying career and to be lifelong learners so they can grow with and adapt to an economy that no one can predict. Teachers need to think about and actively prepare students for the world of work. The research revealed the need for a variety of skills such as technical knowledge, habits of mind like problem solving, and social competences like teamwork and communication as a part of an integrated whole.