Abstract

This article investigates journalism as a communicative actor and examines its ethical foundations in shaping public opinion and sustaining social consensus. Drawing on the author’s analysis, the paper argues that the core journalistic task is to use communicative influence to promote coexistence through persuasion grounded in truth and kindness. It contrasts this orientation with the “dark side” of journalism: manipulation pursued for mercenary or client-driven ends. The study further explores psychoethics and the relationship between moral conduct and thinking as underlying ethical challenges in modern media. Finally, it considers methodological culture, documentary factual truth, and the interpretive nature of journalistic work, concluding that only journalism that positively influences society deserves the status of the fourth estate.