The discursive dynamics of neo-liberal consensus: Irish broadsheet editorials and the privatization of Eircom

The stock market floatation of Telecom Eireann (the soon to be renamed Eircom) in July 1999 was, and remains, “the biggest privatization in the history of the Irish state”. Through the application of a critical discourse analysis framework (Chouliaraki and Fairclough 1999; Fairclough 2003), this article examines editorial discourse both before and after the company’s initially ‘successful’ floatation in six Irish broadsheet newspapers. The different editorial stances are analyzed in terms of the authority of three key neo-liberal assumptions: that the full privatization of the company is desirable; that the notion of direct state involvement in a modern Telecoms market is archaic; and that public participation in the stock market should be encouraged. The article suggests that while the evidence illustrates a context of neo-liberal hegemony, the ideological authority of neo-liberalism should not be understood in undifferentiated, monolithic terms, as the evidence points to a plurality of neo-liberal discourses and styles, which can be partly understood in terms of the ‘media field’ identity of the different newspapers.