The International Caucasian Media Forum on the theme 'World in an age of turbulence: who can withstand?' has finished in Tbilisi. The heads of leading media agencies, experts and media executives from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia discussed the impact of international events and crises on the information environment of the South Caucasus. The editor-in-chief of Russian Reporter magazine, Vitaly Leibin, told Vestnik Kavkaza about his vision of journalism today.
- Vitaly, sometimes one can hear the opinion that a "reporter" and a "journalist" are not the same thing, at least in the post-Soviet space. Is it fair to rank these concepts, or are "reporter" and "journalist" in our environment two different branches of the same profession?
- Reportage is a journalist's main task. But a reporter, perhaps, can even engage in a journalistic genre, or some other, be an observer, but the main journalist's task is still the facts and description of events. Therefore, the core of journalism is reporting.
- Is a reporter something more than just a writing journalist?
- No. The fact is that a journalist isn't working in order to express his position. He retells and describes facts that could be useful to a reader. This is the essence of a reporter. But if he "looks from above" and explains the events, he is no longer a journalist, he is a columnist. The main difficulty and responsibility of a reporter is that he must tell the truth. Not just telling about the parties's positions but taking significant steps to know and convey the essence - the truth to a reader.
- What should a reporter do when "a pen is equated with a bayonet," that is, how can we observe professional ethics in conditions of information war?
- Yes, we are often faced with direct lies, including among highly respected publications and broadcasters. Indeed, there are situations when you cease to be a journalist or a reporter and become a fighter on the information front, i.e. a propagandist. But this is also a respectable, necessary thing. It is also a profession that must be respected - a fighter of the informational forces.
- Would you perform such a function?
- I thought until recently that it is important to maintain the position of a reporter, a journalist. I cannot judge anyone. I respect the people of the propaganda front. Apparently, they do important work. But I personally would like to keep the position of a reporter.
- Where is it difficult to make a report - from a theater of hostilities, or, for example, from elections?
- A report about a peace situation is the hardest thing. Because a hard conflict (a war, for example), directly addresses the main question of any text: the presence of conflict and its sides. You do not have to look for "the story" there - you can see it. But a talented reporter can find "a story" in a peaceful situation too. And anyone, even not a very talented reporter, could find a story during a war situation. Because it is given by life itself, the reality itself, and it is not necessary to invent anything. You just look at it from different angles. It is much more difficult to find "a value conflict" in a peaceful situation. This requires intelligent and creative work.
- What is your experience in the Caucasus and Georgia?
- As the editor-in-chief I read a lot of reports from the Caucasus, but I was not engaged in it personally. People who know the region better than me are working on our portal. I have a dream to do something in this direction too, but it is necessary that the regions which I know much better (Donbass, Ukraine), were more peaceful.
