Luka Brajnovi – From Fidelity to Oneself towards Credibility of Profession

In certain periods, at certain places and in certain media, the reputation and credibility of the journalistic profession has suff ered for a number of reasons, including ignorance, mediocrity, dishonorable or morally questionable methods of journalists, or scandalous, fabricated or partial news stories. This is the opinion of Luka Brajnovi , whose reflections in a comparative analysis with other authors comprise the ”contemplative axis” of this article. The fundamental task and goal of this article is to present and analyze Mr Brajnovi ’s refl ections on the possibility of saving or restoring the reputation and credibility of the journalistic profession. Journalists and the media will not be able to restore credibility as long as extravagant ideas exist about journalism as a profession that deals with ”public whispering, accusations and dissatisfaction with everything that has been established, or as a neutral profession that is ethically hybrid and indifferent towards good and evil”. Such an understanding of the journalistic profession runs against a positive image and reputation of journalism, a fi eld which is in itself worthy of respect of the entire public. In journalism, just as in other professions, unethical behavior on the part of a small number of journalists and media outlets casts a shadow on the journalistic profession as a whole, causing the reputation of the profession to become dependent upon a positive image and the reputation of those individuals working in it. As results of this article show – which for the fi rst time analytically approaches the scientific arguments and refl ections of Mr Brajnovi in the Croatian public sphere – ethical and intellectual health, which can restore credibility to the journalistic profession, are the very elements rooted deep inside of it.