Mass Media and Social Responsibility, A Comparative Analysis of Islamic and Western Approaches
Document Type : Scientific-Research Article
Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Islamic studies, Communication and culture, ISU.
2 Ph.D. Student of Sociology of culture, Tehran University
Abstract
The normative view of the media is the resultant of a group of do’s and don’ts in various institutions interacting with the media. The relation of the media with any of these institutions, the conditions surrounding the media, the philosophical foundations of the media and the religious values, principles and instructions are among the formation grounds for normative theories in regard to the mass media. The social responsibility theory is an example of this kind which seeks to modify individual freedom and create a link between the media independence and their social responsibilities. In other words, the social responsibility theory was formulated in a liberalist and humanist process and added the social responsibility dimension to the doctrine of individual freedom and media independence.
One of the areas of discussion in the field of humanities and social philosophy is the relation between the individual and society. The socialist view gives priority to the society, whereas the individualistic view is mostly tended to individual rights. Thus humans are reduced to their instinctive drives. Contrariwise, the Islamic logic takes a more sublimated stance towards man and considers his worldly and transcendental dimensions simultaneously. The social responsibility that ensues from this Islamic stance brings into prominence an obligation known as enjoining virtues and forbidding vices. That is why this article provides a comparative explanation of the social responsibility status from Western and Islamic viewpoints.
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