Prospects for the formation of professional ethics of Chinese journalists in the digital age: between ethical absolutism and ethical relativism

in this article, the author analyzes the problems of the functioning of professional ethics of journalists in the context of transformations associated with the advent of the digital age. The problems of Chinese journalism in connection with the fundamental transformations that have occurred due to the advent of the information era are highlighted. The main attention in the article is paid to the problem of the relationship between traditional ethical norms and ethical relativism, spreading in the media environment of China in connection with the growing commercialization of the media. The ambivalent nature of the influence of Confucian ethics on modern Chinese culture is emphasized, along with the generally recognized positive aspect of the formation of the principles of social morality, which manifests itself in the journalistic environment. In this context, the concept of social morality is defined, its main universal characteristics are identified, and the features of the traditional Chinese interpretation of the social moral ideal are revealed. Despite the continuing influence of collectivist values of service to the good of society, mercantilism associated with the commercialization of Chinese media is widespread in the Chinese media environment, along with the possibilities of mass income through the digital environment and its increase through deviations from the high moral ideal of the professional ethics of a journalist. The article shows that at the same time there is no simple equation between commercialization or technological changes and the weakening of journalistic ethics. Existing domestic and foreign studies show that professional ethics in China is far from unified and coordinated. In conclusion, it is concluded that in the context of the onset of a digital - a fundamentally new era in the history of world and Chinese journalism, it is necessary to seek a fundamentally new balance between ethical traditional absolutism and the ethical relativism popular today.

Chinese journalism, digital age, information age, ethical absolutism, ethical relativism, journalistic ethics, social morality