Media debate opens Instituto Ethos’ 2007 Conference

The debate “CSR in the media: agenda and management” opened the Instituto Ethos’ 2007 International Conference – Business and Social Responsibility. The third of a series of discussions organized by the Ethos Journalists Network, the roundtable addressed the main issues raised in the previous debates. Ricardo Young, President of Instituto Ethos, presented some of them: Are journalists hawk-eyed and do they keep their ears open to identify sustainability-related themes? Are companies truly concerned about sustainability when they diffuse their socially responsible actions, or are they simply being opportunistic and promoting themselves?

Paulo Itacarambi, Executive Director of Instituto Ethos, stated that if we all want a sustainable society, we must align business sustainability strategies with those of a sustainable society. The media companies are not excluded from this process, and their product – the news – has a direct impact on it. Therefore, how can the media raise the sustainability debate standards when it has adopted business strategies of dealing with the news as a commodity, that is, as low cost and highly used goods? How can the media provide a critical and impartial coverage of the companies that support it through advertising?

Moderator Carlos Eduardo Lins da Silva, director of Patri ¬- Relações Governamentais & Políticas Públicas, started by presenting an ethical question: What are the tools the media has to control the quality and veracity of the news and how does it deal with its own mistakes? According to Antonio Manuel Teixeira Mendes, director superintendent of Grupo Folha, “companies must understand that mistakes are part of the business, and mechanisms to offset and control such mistakes must be used”. Media companies should create their own mechanisms, such as an ombudsman or a “Corrections” section.

Caco de Paula, director of the Tourism Center of Editora Abril, considers the focus a major news factor. “The focus cannot be seen as a mistake, but we must be careful because we cannot always please all our audiences”, he said.