The aim of this paper is to analyse journalistic discourse concerning privatisation and protest. I will examine editorials and news reports on the sale of three major Brazilian state-owned enterprises: Usiminas, Vale do Rio Doce and Telebrás. Texts published the day after the privatisation auctions have been selected from the following Brazilian dailies: Folha de São Paulo, Jornal do Brasil, Correio Braziliense and Jornal de Brasília. This research is based, among others, on Fairclough's work on discourse and on the media, Thompson's work on ideology, Fowler's work on discourse in the media. The methodology employed for examining the corpus is critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, Chouliaraki). In conclusion, it will be shown how discourse in the press - by legitimising the sales and differentiating the protesters - endeavours to forge a feeling of common sense favouring privatisation and repudiating popular protest in the streets.
Discourse; Media; Ideology; Common Sense