The Role of the Kazan School of Journalistic Education in the Training of National Journalists
The paper analyzes the problems of development of education in journalism at the Kazan Federal University. It has been demonstrated that the university has long-established traditions within the field of training specialists in national journalism, which are associated with such outstanding organizers of journalistic science and practice as I.G. Pekhtelev, L.G. Yudkevich, G.S. Kashshaf, F.I. Agzamov. By the middle of 1960s, most of the republican and regional newspapers and magazines published in the Tatar language, as well as television and radio of Tatarstan, were mostly staffed by graduates of the Department of Tatar Journalism of Kazan University, who received the fundamental humanitarian and journalistic education. The Soviet period of development of journalistic education at the university was marked by the creation of the Kazan school for training of journalists, which has its own unique face and clear scientific and pedagogical direction. A system of training journalists for the national media of Tatarstan with a strong pedagogical team capable of creating teaching aids for Tatar students was formed. A harmonious combination of theoretical preparation of students with their practical readiness was achieved. The first half of the 1990s was a rather difficult but interesting time for the sphere of higher education. We have begun to search for the optimal system of educational process, which would significantly improve the professional training of journalists and meet the new needs that have arisen in the information market of the country in connection with the sharp transformation of the socio-political system. The growth of spiritual self-awareness of Russian people, development of national media in Tatarstan and beyond have led to an urgent need for cadres working in the Tatar language. The university began to pay special attention to training journalists for publication in the Tatar language. To achieve success in this field of knowledge, the Department of Tatar Journalism was established in 1990. The Department took serious steps to improve the system of training national staff for working in media. The transition from teaching disciplines related to journalism to the Tatar language was completed. The number of hours for studying the Tatar language and literature was increased. Furthermore, courses on the history of Tatar people, its socio-political thought, musical art, the place of Islam in the spiritual culture have been introduced. Currently, under the conditions of the dynamic globalization of the information market and the development of new information technologies, the Department of Tatar Journalism is elaborating new programs and courses aimed at increasing the mobility of the journalistic education system, increasing the emphasis on practice based on modern technologies and methods. The concept of teaching national journalism has been developed, the staff of the department continues to work actively to create educational and methodological literature for students of the Tatar language. A master's program “Tatar social and political journalism” was created, aimed at strengthening the human resources potential in the field of quality media in the Tatar language.