Poland's Journalists Professionalism and Politics [Hardcover]

Originally published in 1990, Polish Journalists: Professionalism and Politics is a study of how Polish journalists act as independent forces in their society.Originally published in 1990, Polish Journalists: Professionalism and Politics is a study of how, in the face of constant political instructions and restrictions, Polish journalists act as independent forces in their society.Originally published in 1990, Polish Journalists: Professionalism and Politics is a study of how, in the face of constant political instructions and restrictions, Polish journalists act as independent forces in their society.Poland's Journalists: Professionalism and Politics examines the position of journalists and journalism in Poland from the beginning of the country's trauma and revolts in 1948 until the disappointments of Solidarity and its repression by martial law in the 1980s. The author explores journalists' responses--both professionally and politically--to their country's crises, and convincingly argues that they shared common interests and values; that they developed formal and informal organizations and that their self-identification as a professional group is comparable with their journalistic counterparts in the West. This book draws on a variety of published sources, on some 249 interviews with journalists and on surveys. It provides a unique case study of Polish journalists and is a major contribution to the sociological study of professionalism under communism.Acknowledgments; 1. Journalists as professionals in theory and reality; 2. The postwar roots of the profession; 3. Living and learning journalism; 4. Professional associations and professional politics; 5. Journalists as political actors; 6. Solidarity and beyond: the critical test of professionals and professionality; Appendix; Notes; Select bibliography; Index. Not only is it superbly researched and intelligently argued, but this work inspires the sociological imagination. Contemporary Sociology