The article is a review of contemporary studies of the professional culture of a journalist in Russia and of journalistic cultures in foreign works with the aim of finding the general theoretical and methodological background of the unification of approaches. The journalistic culture in Russia has been a relatively new object of consideration in global comparative studies but their results are not conceived in Russian-language literature conceptually. The author consistently examines the approaches, methods and their limitations for the period 2007— 2018 and suggests common problems and general categories for further research. The article describes a confrontation of the normative approach characteristic of Russian studies expressed in the investigation of psychological and sociological aspects of journalistic activity and the institutional approach of foreign studies, which focuses on the examination of professional roles in their perception and implementation in practice. The totality of professional values, standards and, ultimately, professionalism in journalism are seen by the author as a unifying category.