I. Introduction This master’s thesis represents study of female newspaper and magazine editors in Azerbaijan based on Western and Soviet definitions of journalism with explanation of local national features of this p

Table 7: Socio-demographic characteristics of selected editors

Age	%	N	Education	%	N	Family status	%	N
25–39	13.33	2	University degree	80	12	Single	6.66	1
40–49	26.67	4	Institute	13.33	2	Married	60	9
50-60	33.33	5	College	6.66	1	Divorced	26.67	4
60+	26.67	4				Widow	6.66	1
TOTAL	100	15		99.9	15		99.9	15

III.1.2 Education of respondents

In our 2008 research we had to state that selected male Azerbaijani editors of nationwide newspapers had different levels of education [ranging from secondary school to university degree] as well as varying professional backgrounds where journalistic education was hardly overshadowed by one of the political science.

Contrary to that female editors of Azerbaijan represent highly educated individuals. In fact, none of the female respondents, as it can be seen in the graph #4, had limited education in a form of a secondary school diploma. Majority of women interview in our research (87%), graduated with a form of undergraduate or graduate university diploma. To make the contrast with their male counterparts even sharper, selected female editors received predominantly journalistic education. Provided data allows us to make an assumption that female editors represent better educated workforce than their male counterparts that gives them an advantage in their excise of specific tasks related to journalistic profession and necessary to run their media outlets. Thus, selected journalists possess standardized normative knowledge necessary for them to uphold professional standards in their profession. Editors themselves highlighted during their in depth interviews that receiving a journalistic education was not only important for a work of a journalist but taught them to work with materials and critical thinking.
III.1.3 Editors and their stances towards journalism education

S.A. graduated from Baku State University as a journalist and currently works as an editor in chief of semi-independent newspaper Xalq Cebhesi³⁶. Her media career started 32 years ago, when she being 5^th year student at the BDU started to work as a journalist in 1980. Before S.A. achieved editor in chief position in Xalq Cebhesi newspaper she went through hierarchical system of six different newspapers in her career as well as was co-founder of a newspaper Karvan. S.A. is firmly positive about importance of journalistic education for a work of a journalist and especially of an editor.

“A person who intends to work in Azerbaijan [as a journalist] and aspires to be an authority in what he does, must possess higher education degree in journalism. It is really important to have journalistic education. I mean, there are people who did not study journalism in a university and still managed to gain authority and can produce good articles, but never the less journalistic education is a must. For example, I had such role models as my university teachers: Gulu muallim, Tofiq Rustamov, Shirmamed Huseynov, Jahangir Mammadli and I think that without passing through their school it is impossible to become a skillful journalist.”

F.H. who studied at the same university and works in Azerbaijani media for more than 40 years, currently occupying position of a department editor in a nationwide government-run daily newspaper clarifies S.A.’s point.

It is possible that [journalistic] higher education will not give you writing talent if you lack it, yet you will obtain knowledge of other thins, widen your view of the world around you and form you. Journalistic education is important because it will allow you to work on material and do literary editing of materials already written. The truth is that even spending four-five years in a university gives you something, not to mention that you aspire to work as an editor or editor-in-chief. For me an editor without higher education is a nonsense.

However, editors that came to the profession from other sectors of social sciences are less subjects for categorical championship of journalistic education’s supremacy. M.H. graduated from Baku State University in 1971 with a degree in philology and right of the university bench started to work in one of Azerbaijan’s oldest surviving newspapers Vyshka³⁷ [Ru trans. tower] where worked for 40 years making advance from a trainee correspondent to an editor-in-chief.

For things to go smoothly in a newspaper, of course, it is highly desirable for an editor to have journalistic education. However, in our profession there are sometimes people, for example I know one who studied medicine and possesses better journalistic skills than I am. There are many such talented people around. I myself came to this profession from teaching. I was a village school teacher. In those days, journalism course in Russian was taught only as distance learning course and I did not want to do it that is why I studied philology that was taught in Russian language. Yet, I always wanted to be a journalist.

A dissonant voice among our female respondents was S.S., a female editor in Baki Xeber semi-independent newspaper that studied library science in a college and came to the profession as a result of a coincidence. Though other editors, especially those without university diploma in journalism stated that journalistic education is not important to enter journalism as a profession S.S. downplayed importance of higher education in general.

I don’t think that you necessarily need to have higher education for the job. We have professionals that are working with high school diploma. Journalism is such a sphere where stylistics is of the utmost importance. We have more than enough editors that made a name and are well-known even though had no specific journalistic education.

N.Y. who studied economy in an institute and along with S.S. represents the only two editors that posses institute diplomas is also in favor of language mastery over normative knowledge in a form of formal journalistic education.

One who aspires to work as an editor needs to know Azerbaijani language well. Firstly he needs to know grammar and secondly, he needs to feel the language. It is very important for editor’s work.

In our 2008 research report we have mentioned that among other findings our in-depth interviews with editors of twelve daily nationwide newspapers showed us deeply rooted problems with journalistic education quality in Azerbaijan. Some editors stated that they do not want to have young local journalism school graduates since as one of the editors put it, “their newspaper is not a learning facility” (Valiyev 2008). Female editors share negativity of their male colleagues regarding modern journalistic school noting that the failure of the system causes lack of professionalism and thus lack of respect towards journalists from general public. For example I.T. who studied journalism at Baku State University and worked for 33 years in media describes elite status of journalism students.

First of all, I obtained education in this sphere (journalism). Back in those days journalism faculty was considered one of the most prestigious. Students were not accepted in large numbers. For example if other faculties were accepting 75-100 students, journalism faculty accepted only 25 students.

To sum up this part, it is worthy to mention, that current research provided us with data, that allows us to state that educational cleavage among female editors is almost non existing and they present a homogenously well educated and experienced group of professionals that in majority received journalistic education in the Soviet era. Moreover, there is no gap that we found among male editors,, where educated and experienced journalists worked in state funded or government operated newspapers while less experienced and lacking journalistic education editors worked in semi-independent or oppositional newspapers. Female editors’ dominion are state founded or semi-independent newspapers. None of our respondents was affiliated with an oppositional newspaper and none had a degree in political science, the second major education field represented among male respondents. On the second place among female editors was philology, course considered in the Soviet times to be a second path towards journalistic career.