Until recently, those who appreciated the possibilities of technology for journalists, were hardly criticized, believing that they underestimate the human factor and are so-called “technicists”. For confirmation it is enough to tell that emergence of each next media is, first of all, the technical invention and the new method of information distribution based on it. In this regard, the digitalization of the processes of collection, processing and dissemination of mass information radically transforms journalism.What is digitalization? “Digitalization” - translation of information into digital form. Digital transmission of informational data encoded in discrete signal pulses, method, which is widely used in many of the latest electronic communication systems (zemlyanova, 2004:104). Uzbekistan began to master digital technologies almost simultaneously with Russia and China. While these two major countries switched to the Internet in 1994, Uzbekistan did so in May 1996. It was at this time that the Information center of the President’s office connected the country’s media to the Internet with the help of the national provider UzPAK, created with the assistance of the Russian telecommunications campaign “Sovam-teleport”.The advantages of new technologies were initially quite obvious. First, there is a very high speed of spreading of signals carrying information - 300 000 km per second. For comparison, we can note that the Internet signal could turn around the globe for only one second. Secondly, it was possible to transmit, receive and store huge amounts of information, because we are talking about electrons that do not occupy a physical place and do not “weigh” at all. Thirdly, there is the ease of use of new recording and transmitting digital technology, when it can be successfully used by anyone. We can recall that until recently, each mobile television station (MTS) was served by about ten people, in addition, it was also necessary to transmit a TV station in the form of a specially adapted car, etc.However, the main thing, in our opinion, is that the new technology partially helps to solve the age-old problem of Uzbekistan - the issue of censorship. It is known that censorship in the Republic was officially closed in 2002, when the decree of the first President of the country Islam Karimov abolished the administrative structure for the protection of state secrets in the press. Instead, the Committee of press and information established the Department of monitoring media appearances, where staff controlled the line published by the national media adopted in Uzbekistan law. Editors were often sent letters about violations, which forced them to develop self-censorship. Therefore, the topic of censorship and self-censorship for many years has been and still remains one of the most acute in the country. And to solve it to some extent it helps digitalization, which contributes to the resolution of three important issues in this area.First, digital technologies are dramatically expanding the range of sources of information, which objectively makes it difficult to control them. We are not talking about the trend that has been observed in Uzbekistan since the first years of independence, i.e. since the early 90-ies of the last century. Its essence lies in the fact that to the former “classic” publications such as “Pravda Vostoka”, “NarodnoeSlovo”, “XalqSo’zi”, “Uzbekistan Ovozi” and others added a lot of mass, recreational publications, programs and sites.More specifically, we are referring to a large number of official and unofficial sites that flood the virtual information space of the national domain uz. A lot of recognized and little-known bloggers appeared, it is not possible to control their performances. As a result, today Uzbekistan has a chance to get all sorts of information from everywhere, which forces the official media to change their tone and content if they do not want to lose their audience completely. That is, modern media create such conditions that old, traditional Newspapers and magazines, radio and television are forced to move to the new century, and not live in the comfort of the old.Second, and equally important, professional standards for the dissemination of information require that the news reach the consumer within minutes of the event. This excludes the very possibility of previewing the information and agreeing on whether or not to post a message, i.e. what constitutes the essence of censorship (preliminary inspection of information by officials before its publication). Thus, the new technology and the need for rapid transmission of information have created completely different parameters for journalists and amateurs in the field of information dissemination. These conditions have nothing to do with any individuals, it all depends on modern journalism.Third, the sharply increased number of authors, providing materials in the virtual and traditional media. The question of whether bloggers and other amateurs who do not have a professional journalistic education are journalists today raises serious disputes among specialists. It is known that on a planetary scale the world is divided in this issue into two camps, which can be called countries with Western and Eastern approaches.A. A Kalmykov writes about the first approach: “the Debate about Internet journalists began, probably, with the creation of the first site. But, as you know, not completed until now. Although the other day we learned that America has finally solved this issue. Here’s the thing. The Supreme court of the state of New York adopted a case law: it recognized all Internet sites, regardless of their content and professional level of the media. From now on, in the eyes of American justice, any author published on the Internet is considered a journalist and has the right to receive and disseminate information in the same way as employees of professional media do. Many experts consider this decision revolutionary - it radically changes the view of journalism in the context of globalization” (2: 113-114). It would be logical to assume that the leading European countries will follow their overseas leader in this matter.There is also the opposite approach, which is followed by some Eastern countries. In China, for example, in order to obtain the status of a journalist of traditional or virtual media, it is necessary to work in the state in the media or to be registered in a state body. Therefore, although Chinese bloggers working in the network, a dime a dozen, at the official level, they are not considered journalists.We can say without risking making a mistake - this ambivalent attitude towards bloggers is one of the most difficult issues of today’s information age. Uzbekistan adheres to the Chinese position on this issue, for the official recognition of the blogger, it is also necessary to register here.Let’s move on to journalism education. Since 1949, when the Department of journalism was opened at the Central Asian State University (now the National University of Uzbekistan named after MirzoUlugbek), our Republic, together with the faculty of journalism of the Kazakh National University set the tone in the training of professional journalists in the region. From the Central Asian State University spun off all without exception, higher education institutions of today’s Central Asia.In the years of the Soviet Union, training was conducted under the programs of Moscow University, the journalists themselves were referred to as party, and their main task was the ideological support of the construction of communism in the Soviet Union. The collapse of the USSR coincided with several fundamentally important events. First, all the republics of the former country fell into economic and political collapse, when numerous economic ties were severed at once and everyone began to survive as he could. Second, was sharply devalued the national currency, which led to a marked impoverishment of the masses. Thirdly, by this time the developed part of the planet has mostly entered the information age, so the countries of the former power also had to join the Internet and explore a new, hitherto unknown technological world.The following can be said about the digitalization of media in Uzbekistan from the point of view of journalistic education. Several stages could be distinguished. In our view, it includes one preliminary and four main stages.Preliminary stage. This includes the last years of the Soviet period and the first years of independence. This is before the Internet period, when journalists already knew about the Internet and its reserves, but did not have the opportunity to use them.Stage 1, 1996-1997. There was a mass media connection in Uzbekistan. At this time, or rather - in 1996-1997 - in the curriculum of the faculty of journalism of the Tashkent University (since 1999 and the new faculty of international journalism of the Uzbek State University of World Languages) for the first time introduced disciplines related to the Internet.Stage 2, 1997-2002. A legislative framework for the functioning of the media in Uzbekistan has been created, and several laws related to the media have been adopted. But despite the existence of laws, in fact, freedom of speech in these years in Uzbekistan was significantly limited.Stage 3. 2002-2016 years of Journalistic technology is developing at a rapid pace. There is a massive mastery of the national media methods of digitalization, digitalization is actively introduced into the activities of editors and becomes an important method of further technical development of print, radio and television journalism, as well as online publications.Stage 4, from 2016 to the present. Rapid further development of digitalization. The opening of the University of Journalism and Mass Communications of Uzbekistan in Tashkent in 2018, when digitalization became one of the main directions of the functioning of the new University, played an important role. Suffice it to say that the very first faculty of the new University is called the Internet and social networks, and the curriculum includes a number of subjects that directly implement digitalization. Below we will talk about them.Journalistic education in Uzbekistan in 1991-1995 tried to combine the previous criteria of training with new, taken from the practice of universities abroad. Thus, one of the main innovations was the introduction of the principles of news and commenting journalism, investigative journalism, media management and media marketing into journalistic education. As for digitalization, it began to develop rapidly with the introduction of the Internet not only in the practice of the media of the Republic, but also in the educational process, as well as in the theory of media.It is necessary to pay tribute to the leadership of the Republic of time - it did not prevent the development of the Internet in the country, although a number of other areas for the development of freedom technologies remained banned. A more practical and fruitful approach was to lead the process. An international Department was created in the Information center of the presidential Administration, which fulfilled this task. The assimilation of the principles of work of national media with the world of the Internet occurred in May 1996, when the editors and journalists of Uzbekistan with the filing and with the help of seminars of the international Department of the Information center quickly mastered the basics of digitalization. Therefore, the Newspapers of Uzbekistan for April 1996 are strikingly different from the same Newspapers for June of the same year, when the editorial offices began to massively apply in their practice the methods of the Internet and use its materials.What does journalism education consist of? From the traditional educational disciplines, including the Humanities, and professional disciplines. The first and second groups of subjects are being digitized today, without it further steps forward are impossible. Let us consider the example of a new University established more than a year ago in Uzbekistan.We believe that the process of digitalization of journalistic education should be divided into two levels - general and sectoral. Overall, there will be digitalization in general: mastering the skills of the Internet, equipping editors with modern digital equipment, effective use of modern audio and video equipment in journalistic practice, etc.Industry digitalization can be called the provision of digital technology and appropriate methods of work of certain areas and areas of journalistic activity.Here are the main benefits of digitalization of the education of the future journalist:- creation of new technical and creative environment in the editorial offices;- development of new high-speed thinking skills, which is very important for a journalist, if not the most necessary;- the practice of rapid work with the media;- ability to quickly find and collect the necessary and relevant information;- to process and differentiate the necessary thematic information;- group mass information on the necessary topics, problems, blocks;- work with your audience specifically and purposefully.Digitalization is also changing the fundamental humanitarian and creative attitudes of journalists. The main transformations are:- a sharp increase in the place, role and importance of information technologies in daily journalistic activities;- development of new values of the profession, due to the modern technical and creative environment;- point rapprochement with the audience, the definition of their groups with which the journalist intends to work in the future;- transition from simple information transfer to service type information;- development of a new language of communication, due to the new semantic and thematic groups of words;- development of a new network and digital ethics of the journalistic profession;- the need to quickly address the ever-evolving digital divide;- the need to be able to work equally effectively:a) in different speed modes;b) with different kinds of media at the same time;C) to know English, the role of which is constantly growing;d) be able to work with information retrieval systems;e) be able to work with advertising, etc.We believe that the journalism of our country was able to make a decisive step forward in comparison with the media of other neighboring countries, due to the fact that by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated May 24, 2018 the University of Journalism and Mass Communications was opened in the Republic - the first specialized higher education institution in the CIS.In the starting, 2018-2019 academic year, the University operates undergraduate areas such as Internet journalism, print media, media marketing and advertising, media design, television and radio journalism, international journalism, sports journalism, information services and public relations.There were nine specialties of the magistracy: print media, political and legal journalism, Internet journalism, publishing and editing, information technology services, television and radio broadcasting, media management, higher courses of journalism. The latter accepted bachelors who graduated from universities in other than journalism, specialties. So the Republic is trying to solve the issue of training industry journalists in various areas of the economy.Almost all areas of undergraduate and graduate specialties have quite modern subjects directly related to digitalization. Thus, future specialists in the field of print media are studying the basics of creation, as well as the design of Internet versions of printed publications. TV and radio journalists get acquainted with the basics of video graphics. Internet users learn network technologies of virtual space, the same video graphics and blogosphere with social networks. Bachelors in media design pay special attention to work with digital photos, audio and video materials.Future masters of all specialties study the mechanisms of work with open and closed sources, visualization in journalism, data journalism, etc. This year the University opened the direction of Military journalism.It is impossible to call digitalization a lot of only Internet journalism or modern publishing systems. It would be better to consider it as a universal method of preparation of experts in all professional fields and professions. When journalists turned to the Internet EN masse in the early 1990s, they were not divided into print, television and radio or public relations, but everyone was interested in the new network and its limitless possibilities. Specialists were interested in the great prospects of the global network, the activities of which were based on digital technologies. The University of journalism and mass communications provides for the study and development of skills with digital technology future specialists in many areas.From this point of view, we describe a number of subjects of the new University in terms of digitalization of the acquired profession. The curriculum of bachelor’s and master’s programs provides for the study of digital technology in the following areas:·Web design basics·Multimedia journalism·Basics of digital photography·Robot journalism·Mobile journalism·Practice telescience and digital installation·Basics of video graphics·The latest technology of training talk show·Infographics and visualization of publications·Media design software·Theory and practice of new media·Digital technologies in media management·Modern media formats·Traditional and digital PR technologies·Multimedia on the Internet.The question may arise - the ideas are very serious, will the staff of the new University cope with the tasks? Of course, it will not be easy. But the staff of our University is young, seriously working on the education of students and self-education.However, it was erroneous to believe that the successful development of the digitalization of current and future journalists of Uzbekistan will help some new, special items. Universal lock picks are not here. There is a strong rule that all journalists in Uzbekistan must strictly adhere to - the continuously growing level of requirements for the accelerated development of new technology for the transfer of processing and dissemination of information. Who had time, he would be on horseback. You lost who have left in the day. There is no other solution to the problem. even non-professionals can use mobile phones, SMS and telegrams.We can say that the opening of the new University will contribute to the development of future journalists’ genetic predisposition to modern digital technology in many areas of journalism at the same time. It is possible that other CIS countries will follow the path of creating specialized universities to work with mass information. There is no alternative to the information age, and the new century requires training not journalists in General, but specialists who are able to work professionally in the above areas.The ways of digitalization are multiple and inscrutable. A well-known theorist of the network society Manuel Castells writes about one of them: “New technologies also favor the development of the social space of virtual reality, which combines openness and experimentation with role-playing games. The most successful of them is SecondLife, which in February 2008 had 12.3 million registered participants and about 50 thousand visitors at any time of the average day... And this virtual space has such communication capabilities that some universities have even created their campuses in SecondLife, where experiments are conducted to use it as an educational platform...” (3:116).