Características de las Empresas Sociales Periodísticas (ESP)

Abstract

El sector de las empresas de comunicación está experimentando importantes cambios motivados por la irrupción de la tecnología digital y la pérdida de credibilidad de los medios informativos tradicionales. En esta situación están emergiendo nuevos modelos de negocios sostenibles, entre ellos las Empresas Sociales. En la literatura no se ha abordado con detalle la definición del concepto de Empresa Social Periodística (ESP), ni de las características que las determinan. El marco teórico de esta investigación ha sido la conceptualización dada por EMES (European Research Network), que identifica 11 criterios para reconocer a las Empresas Sociales, unos principios que se agrupan en tres dimensiones: económica y emprendedora, social y gobernanza participativa. El objetivo general es identificar las características de las ESP, determinar las variables asociadas al «no lucro» y examinar el encaje con el enfoque de la Empresa Social propuesto por EMES. Para conocer las diferencias entre las empresas periodísticas emergentes que se autodenominan «con ánimo de lucro» y «sin ánimo de lucro», se realizó un análisis exploratorio e inferencial de los emprendimientos periodísticos recogidos en el directorio de empresas SembraMedia (509 medios). Se tuvieron en cuenta variables clave como: fundadores, misión, género periodístico, propietarios, fuentes de ingresos y fuentes informativas. Las aportaciones principales de este trabajo son dos. En primer lugar, abordar un sector que no es contemplado habitualmente en los estudios de la Empresa Social, enriqueciendo el campo de estudio. En segundo lugar, contribuir a la conceptualización de la Empresa Social Periodística en el marco del enfoque EMES.

The sector of communication companies is undergoing important changes, some of them are motivated by the irruption of digital technology and the loss of credibility of traditional media. This situation is favoring the emergence of new forms of journalism and new sustainable business models (Galán, 2017), many of these models catalogable as Social Enterprises. However, the Social Enterprise concept is not sufficiently developed in the field of communication.Only in Spain, during the crisis (2008-2016), journalists have created more than 500 media that try to offer answers to the precariousness of employment and the lack of credibility of the sector (Palacios, 2015). The new business models appear as one of the solutions that guarantee the survival of the journalistic company (Larrañaga-Rubio, 2010). These emerging forms are oriented, on the one hand, to create quality employment, and on the other, to satisfy the need for information from society through innovations in services or in information products. These journalistic projects adopt legal forms very different from each other; some forms can be cataloged as Social Enterprises. A simple look at their Websites shows how they fit the definition of the European Commission that indicates that they are organizations "whose main objective is to have a social impact beyond the generation of a benefit for their owners or shareholders. They work providing goods and services to the market through entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as using its benefits primarily to achieve social objectives. They are managed in an open and responsible manner and, in particular, involve workers, consumers and interest groups affected by their commercial activity "(COM-2011, 682:2, Brussels, 25.10.2011). The point is that there is no definition of what is meant by Social Journalistic Enterprise (SJE), nor of the characteristics that can help to identify them. In general, Social Enterprise is a concept that is not yet delimited theoretically and about which there is some confusion due to the existence of different approaches (Cabra de Luna, 2017). If, in addition, it is limited to the specific field of journalism, it is even more complicated to give this answer.