173 ARTICLE MORAL, INFORMATIONAL AND LEGAL ASPECTS OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM Dmitry Shibaev and Nina Uibo (Russia) Authors Dmitry Shibaev PhD (Law), Russian Academy of Justice, 2011 Head of Social Science, Humanities and Legal Computer Science Department, NorthWestern Institute (branch) of Kutafin Moscow State Law University (Vologda) Email: 013600@inbox.ru Nina Uibo PhD (Law), Saint Petersburg State University, 1982 Associate Professor, Social Science, Humanities and Legal Computer Science Department, Northwestern Institute (branch) of Kutafin Moscow State Law University (Vologda) Email: uibo.n@mail.ru Abstract Information society increasingly expands opportunities of mass media as a tool to manipulate a human mind. <...> Legal and moral principles of the journalist ethics are the most discussed issues in the regulation of the mass media in Russia and abroad. <...> The authors explore the origin of a legal status of a journalist, modern legal and regulatory acts defining a scope of the media. <...> Keywords Ethics, honesty, integrity, impartiality, legal and moral regulation, shape the mindset, tolerance, legal status of a journalist DOI: 10.17803/2313-5395.2016.1.5.173-184 Volume 1 April 2016 Issue 1(5) www.kulawr.ru 174 KUTAFIN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction . 174 II. <...> International and Russian legal regulation of journalism . 176 III. <...> The practice of resolving disputes by the Public Commission for Press Complaints .180 IV. <...> Currently, just by force of habit, everyone takes mass media as the so called ‘fourth power’.2 journalism deals with issues of power and practice of using it, being itself a balancing and controlling power. <...> Ob obshchestvennom dogovore, ili Printsipy politicheskogo prava / perevod s frants. <...> M.: KANONpress, Kuchkovo pole, 1998 (Rousseau JJ, Of the Social Contract, or Principles of Political Right (Trans. from French. <...> CANON-press, 1998)). 3 E Bagerstam, Freedom of the Press in a Democratic Society (Tartu, Vyallingbi, 1992). www.kulawr.ru Volume 1 April 2016 Issue 1(5) Dmitry Shibaev, Nina Uibo Moral, Informational and Legal Aspects of Professional Activity of a Journalist is the instrument of violence4 175 . <...> The impact of the press on every sphere <...>