“Social Responsibility” as a Weapon?: Public Service Journalism as Private Media’s Main CSR Tool in Chavista Venezuela

Abstract

How do private news media outlets fulfil Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goals in countries where journalism is restricted by laws and regulations boosted by authoritarian governments? This chapter attempts to provide some answers to this question by focusing on the case of Venezuela, where the 23-year rule of populist “Chavismo” (a term that merges Hugo Chávez’s and his successor Nicolas Maduro’s presidencies) has had a significant impact on the configuration and work of the private news media industry. Thousands of outlets of all types (legacy and digital native) have been intimidated, expropriated, or just obliterated in the last two decades. The government has bullied vocal journalists publicly, imposed heavy fines, penalized, and even arrested reporters and editors alike. This is explained by the fact that in Venezuela the term “social responsibility of journalism” has a double meaning that evokes Orwellian doublespeak: The legal governmental meaning that mandates the publication of information that is “truthful” (veraz), a word that can have subjective and often dangerous interpretations. And the purely professional meaning focused on practicing public service journalism and holding power accountable while trying to survive in the process.