A Critical Analysis of Neoliberal Ideology in Print News about 'The Great Experiment'---the Charter School Movement

While there are many disturbing "reforms" underway in the United States, the privatization of public education is one of the most alarming, and charter schools are perhaps one of the most accepted. Their track record, in terms of student performance and labor practices, warrants a national outcry. Yet, with teacher unions under attack, voices of protest are compromised. Using critical discourse analysis and qualitative content analysis, this study surveys the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post over two years to answer several questions: How does the observed news discourse tacitly reinforce neoliberal ideology? In what ways is neoliberal ideology reflected in the perspectives and voices represented in news coverage of charter schools in selected elite press? And who is likely to benefit from the observed patterns of coverage and how?;The news discourse analyzed for this study bolstered the neoliberal restructuring of public education in a variety of subtle ways. The articles were inundated with neoliberalism, implying such logic is supreme. By marginalizing reform ideas that are inconsistent with neoliberalism, the news sample tacitly depicted the charter school movement as the reform best suited to transform the nation's public schools and teacher unions as the primary barrier to effective school reform. Politicians' voices were included more than any other, and teacher union voices were disproportionately used to portray them negatively. Groups that support the expansion of the charter school movement benefit from the observed patterns of coverage, as do politicians and corporate leaders who seek to either diminish or eliminate the influence of unions in general, and teacher unions in particular.;The public interest was not served by this sample of news. Critical analysis of the "charterization" of public schools was so limited that it disallowed the kind of public discussion and debate necessary before continuing massive investments in its expansion. This news coverage facilitates the enactment of policies favorable to charters with minimal public assessment or resistance. The negative portrayals of teacher unions advance pro-charter and anti-labor education policy agendas. The observed news coverage also has implications for how teacher unions manage their public image.