Critical thinking as the essence of journalistic professionalism

the article examines the problem of the essential content of journalistic professionalism in the context of the modern Chinese media field, characterized by the contradiction between ideological and market imperatives. It is proved that the traditional understanding of professionalism as a set of ethical standards is insufficient. The aim of the study is to provide theoretical and empirical substantiation of the hypothesis that the core of professionalism is the spirit of critical thinking, which manifests itself in two practical dimensions: news sensitivity and professional judgment. The study is based on a mixed methodology. A quantitative survey of 450 Chinese journalists and 30 iАn-depth interviews was conducted. To assess the level of professionalism, a specially developed "Critical Thinking Index of a journalist" (ICTM) was used, as well as tests for news sensitivity and professional judgment. Statistical analysis methods, including correlation and regression analysis, were used to analyze the data. The results showed a strong positive correlation between the level of development of critical thinking and practical competencies, especially the ability to make professional judgments (r=0.87). It has been established that the presence of specialized journalistic education significantly increases the level of critical thinking and the ability to make a balanced judgment, while working in a competitive environment of commercial media to a greater extent develops news sensitivity. It is concluded that true professionalism is a complex system based on critical thinking. For its formation, it is necessary to purposefully develop not only the skills of journalists, but also the appropriate mental temperament, which should become the central task of university education.

journalistic professionalism, critical thinking, news sensitivity, professional judgment, media education