The article deals with the problem of studying students’ views of the instrumental competence of journalists (ICJ) as a predictor of their professional development. The urgency of the issues under consideration is justified by the need to use the EDM system in higher education institutions, which is caused by the contradictions between the contemporary demands of the journalism labour market and the professional training of graduates. In this regard, the proposed study is aimed at finding possible causes for existing contradictions. Based on the results of the study of educational documents and the review of the scientific literature, authors identified the 23 information computer technologies skills that are required for journalists to perform professional tasks. The students of the first year of study (N=207) of three universities were asked to evaluate the importance/necessity of these ICT skills. The used in the survey questionnaire, that consist of demographic and Likert-type questions, provided an opportunity to rank the importance of assessed skills and to identify through factor analysis four significant groups of ICJ-components. They are web publishing skills, cybersecurity skills, multimedia content preparation skills, and media promotion tools. Authors compared the results of the first-year students’ survey with the results of the analysis of educational programs in the speciality "Journalism" (of Ukrainian universities) and identified the directions of possible improvement of the organizational component of journalistic education. The conclusions justify the using of illuminated research methodology to develop a system of analysis of educational perception data and propose prospective directions for further research.