The topic of staff shortages is relevant to many industries, including the media industry. Nadezhda Plotnikova, co-chair of the Information and Communication Policy Committee, General Director of FederalPress, said this at the meeting of the Information and Communication Policy Committee of the Association of Managers.
Participants at the meeting included representatives of press agencies, media agencies, educational organizations and businesses. They discuss the shortage of human resources in the media and PR industry, and analyze the reasons for the gap between graduate training and actual market needs.
Plotnikova drew attention to the high turnover of personnel in the media industry, noting that the problem is largely due to the low wages and low profit margins of the media business.
“Today, modern business and the economy cannot develop fully and balancedly without strong marketing and PR barriers. In 2026, we may witness tragic circumstances in the regional media business – due to increased tax burdens, inflation and lack of advertising budgets,” she said.
Psychology.ru editor-in-chief Alexander Akulinichev affirmed that many young professionals are leaving the profession due to low income.
“It is impossible to create high-quality content under such conditions, especially when you are competing with artificial intelligence. The value of a real journalist today is the ability to find meaning in the truth. Audiences still value a trusted brand, expert insight and editorial responsibility. Our job is to be guarantors of quality and this cannot be learned anywhere except in the newsroom,” he noted.
Sergei Koshkin, head of public relations at CEMROS, notes that businesses need professionals with a multimedia storytelling mindset.
“Today, communication is not an 'aesthetic function' but a tool to solve business problems. The strength of young professionals, representing the zoomer generation, is that they know how to sell their products,” he said.
PR Director of Askona Group, Larisa Malysheva emphasized that the problem lies in the difference between the candidate's capabilities and the employer's expectations.
“Universities provide students with good, high-quality theoretical foundations, but current graduates do not have the practical skills that an employer really needs. They are not ready for real, everyday business challenges,” she said.
