RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and JournalismRUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism2312-92202312-9247Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba (RUDN University)3072510.22363/2312-9220-2022-27-1-109-121Research ArticleFactors Transgressing Journalism’s Contemporary Mission and RoleSimonsGreg<p>Associate Professor, Humanitarian Institute of Ural Federal University (Russia); Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Uppsala University (Sweden).</p>gregmons@yahoo.comhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6111-5325StrovskyDmitry L.<p>Professor, Dr. of Political Science, Research Associate at Ariel University’s Research Centre for Defence and Communication (Israel), Visiting Professor of the School of International Studies, Sichuan University (China).</p>dmitry.strovsky@gmail.comhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1651-2484Uppsala UniversityUral Federal UniversityAriel University’s Research Centre for Defence and CommunicationSchool of International Studies at Sichuan University0104202227110912101042022Copyright © 2022, Simons G., Strovsky D.L.2022<p style="text-align: justify;">This discussion article envisages five different contemporary challenges and pays special attention to the arguments as to why contemporary journalism losses its professional priorities and gets mixed in with other types of mass communication, particularly with public relations (PR) and propaganda. This clarification is of great importance not only for purely professional purposes, but also for broad social priorities. Arguments concerning the role and mission of journalism place it anywhere between watchdog and lapdog which makes the process of studying journalism uncertain and even contradictory as it is caught between the binds of historical values and the traps of contemporary practice.</p>journalismfourth estateinterpretive journalismtransgressionжурналистикамедиатизацияглобализацияполитизациякоммерциализация[Azhgikhina, N. (2007). The Struggle for Press Freedom in Russia: Reflections of a Russian Journalist. Europe-Asia Studies, 59(8), 1245-1262.][Baistow, T. (1985). Fourth-rate Estate: an Anatomy of Fleet Street. London: Comedia.][Boyatzis, R. (1998). Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.][Brandzaeg, P.B., Fölstad, A., & Chapparo Dominguez, M.A. (2018). 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