Professional education and employment of Czech music journalism focused on the rock music in the period of normalization
Abstract
The advent of rock music in sixties has fundamentally changed the entire field of popular music all over the world including Czechoslovakia. Rock music played an irreplaceable social role, especially in relation to young generations who were using it as a significant voice of their feelings.
Evolving area of the rock music did not correspond to its professional reflection in official mass media. Serious rock music journalism has significantly developed only in the end of sixties.
In the period of normalization the Czechoslovak communist government restarted to hold itself rigidly to Marxist-Leninist ideology in its political and cultural practise. This turn resulted also in new official approach to rock music characterised by differentiated forms of media regimentation including prescriptive media coverage of the rock music or massive reduction of popular music periodicals.
The article is focused on the description of music journalism education based on university studies as well as on less formal way of further education provided by interest groups or illegal platforms in the period of normalisation. This article attempts also to give deeper thought into how the area of rock music can become ideologically an unwanted way of making a living.