Evaluating 21st-Century Newspaper Race Reporting Projects: From Social Responsibility to Corporate Responsibility to Race

By juxtaposing social responsibility theory with the theory of corporate responsibility to race, this study examines how newspapers combined text and visuals to address the issue of race in the first quarter of the 21st century. Fifteen race reporting projects have been produced since 2015, with most initiated after the death of George Floyd. Our textual and visual analysis shows how education-related reporting projects, apologies for past wrongdoings, and racial reconciliation stories can spotlight racial issues. When analyzing these 15 race reporting projects and 745 photographs, both social responsibility theory and corporate responsibility to race theory help explain the strategies that newspapers use to discuss race in the 21st century.