Blogger Maxim Anufriyev told young journalists how to succeed in the profession

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One of the most motivating meetings as part of the Young Journalists School project was held on 13 June at the National Centre RUSSIA. Future professionals met Maxim Anufriyev, a young man who proves every day, through his life and civic stance, that human capabilities are limitless. The musician, blogger, author of his own channel "Max Life" and friend of the National Centre RUSSIA told the participants how to develop information awareness, protect themselves from negativity online and stay true to themselves. The meeting, titled "Modern Journalism: Execute Not Pardon", was timed to coincide with International Blogger Day, which is marked on 14 June.

Together with the speaker, the young journalists discussed the main trends in the modern information agenda. They talked about why it is important to check content carefully, examined different types of manipulation on social media, and discussed the role of a blogger in the information space, as well as their responsibility and ethics. Maxim Anufriyev emphasised that anyone can become a media professional, but this requires not only desire, but also a willingness to work.

"Anyone can master this profession, but only if they have two things: desire and determination. After all, it is not enough to want to become someone; you need to find the strength and perseverance to be that person," Maxim Anufriyev said.

According to the blogger, the speed at which information is consumed is growing relentlessly, the modern generation can figuratively be called the "swipe generation", and this has a significant impact on the quality and form of content presentation.

"A young person scrolls through the feed very quickly, sometimes without even trying to delve into its content. That is why, in the modern world, a content creator is forced, like a salesperson, to fight for the attention of the end consumer. To 'sell' yourself, you need to be able to catch attention literally within a second," Maxim Anufriyev explained.

The meeting also paid special attention to artificial intelligence. The blogger urged the participants not to be afraid of neural networks, but also not to shift responsibility for the product of their professional work onto them.

"There is certainly a danger that we will forget how to think, but in the modern world, not using neural networks is as foolish as not using wheels. After all, when we use a wheel, we are not afraid that we will forget how to walk. The main thing is not to let artificial intelligence think for you or impose its 'opinion' on you," he warned.

When the young journalists asked where to start with their blog and how not to be afraid of public opinion, Maxim Anufriyev’s answer was brief: start with what you like. He admitted that if he took all criticism to heart, he would not be standing in that room today.

"Start with what you like and do not be afraid to try. Even if something does not work out, even if the project does not bring returns and at first only takes away your strength, energy and money, the main thing is not to despair. As for public opinion, if I worried about it and took it to heart, I would not be standing before you now. The main thing is that I do what I do, and this work brings results," Maxim Anufriyev said.

The main guest of the meeting spoke about what inspires him to create content, what to do when it sometimes seems that all ideas have run out, what he thinks Russia of tomorrow will look like, and what place neural networks and bloggers will have in it. At the end of the meeting, he reminded the participants of the responsibility borne by everyone who works with information.

"If you have made a mistake, you must admit it. But in order not to make mistakes, you need to create content thoughtfully and find the primary source. Journalism and blogging are a huge responsibility. So if you are not sure about something, it is better not to put it on air, because information matters not only to you, but also to your audience. And what articles, videos and the media sphere become in the future depends on you, on me and on the entire media community. Let us not forget that trends are set by someone, and perhaps one day that someone will be you. I very much hope so," Maxim Anufriyev concluded.

Young Journalists School is a project of the National Centre RUSSIA implemented jointly with the Movement of the First with the support of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. Its main goal is to train media specialists to ensure the country’s information sovereignty and objective coverage of events. The participants gain systematic knowledge of the Russian language and the basics of journalism, learn to work with information, check facts, counter manipulation and create high-quality multimedia content. Most importantly, the School gives them an opportunity to take their first steps in the profession.