On November 6, Polina Nikolskaya, a correspondent for Kommersant-Vlast magazine, spoke to the students of the “Society” and “Politics” workshops at the Kommersant Academy. Polina told the audience about the specifics of working with the court and investigative authorities.

During her speech, Nikolskaya outlined the main difficulties in writing court reports and notes, explained the position that a journalist should adhere to while working, and told what things need to be written about and what things are strictly prohibited.

According to Polina, in the context of her work, a journalist should not take the side of the defense or the prosecution, but should notice the details, the reactions of the parties, try to get acquainted with the case materials in detail, etc. The journalist also emphasized the need to meet lawyers, relatives of the defendant, and try to communicate with investigators.

The most interesting thing in court material, according to Nikolskaya, is the interview with the judge and jury, so you need to try to establish contact with them, although this is often difficult.

Polina constantly supported her lecture with examples from her personal experience and the experience of her colleagues. In general, Polina Nikolskaya’s speech was very informative, succinct and interesting. One can sense high professionalism and rich journalistic experience.

A graduate of Moscow State University, Nikolskaya managed to work for leading news agencies lenta.ru and gazeta.ru, as well as for Kommersant-FM radio.

Student of the Kommersant Academy Akimova Anna

Master class from Polina Nikolskaya