| Abstract [eng] |
The author of the article points out three development stages and features of the journalism science in Lithuania: 1) Philosophy of the school of journalism developed by Jouzas Keliuotis (before World War II); 2) the adaptation of the audiences of the occupation period; 3) the epoch of freedom (from 1988) and the emancipation from “suspension”. Before 1942 journalism studies in Lithuania were oriented to the prospects of the science of sociology and philosophy, what organically coincided with the global concept of media science. After World War II, when the occupational totalitarian communist authorities began using means of mass communication as an instrument of power, i.e. the system of mass information and propaganda, and science institutions lost their autonomy, the concept of natural mass media freedom managed to survive due to alternative information sources (resistance underground press, radio broadcasts from the Western Europe) as well as scientists’ individual efforts in the University. However, the operation of power structures presupposes an ambiguous situation of the fight of conscience; therefore, self-awareness and objective publication of scientific research were suspended. This developed preconditions for the preservation of the ideal of press freedom in the University, which was later perfectly revealed in the period of Sąjūdis (1988–1990) and postponement of the analysis of journalism as a component of global communication theories. In order to answer the question put at the beginning of the article, i.e. the establishment of the moment when the science of communication entered the field of Lithuanian journalism, it would be enough to claim that this moment has just emerged. It is now, i.e. the beginning of the 21st century, that the journalism is perceived as an integral part of communication science. However, the above is possible only with one reservation: we have to emphasise that this moment came only when a theoretic of professional journalism Juozas Keliuotis defined the mission and functions of journalism. |
