Reconsidering The Social Responsibility Of Media Institutions

In 1947, the Hutchins Commission talked for the first time on the social responsibility of the press. It was 6 years before having the idea of social responsibility being applied to the work of company managers and companies themselves. According to the U.S. commission, this social responsibility consisted in the educational role of the press. Since 1947, not only the media channels and tools changed significantly, but also the profile of those that read, listen or watch to mass-media production. Based on the new realities of the 21st century press industry and the new profile of media audience, we attempt to redefine the concept of social responsibility for this particular type of organization. To show this reconsideration is viable, we analyze one media institution that leads the way in its industry, which is CNN. At the same time, we emphasize the idea that social responsibility of an organization is only one element of a broader concept of responsibility, of organizational responsibility, where the company is no longer understood from a bi-polar perspective (economic vs. social responsibilities).