Extracting an ounce of truth: Mainstream media coverage of Canadian mining neoliberalism
Abstract
The neoliberal global economic framework facilitates the ability of Canadian mining corporations to maximize profits by operating in developing countries that lack strict environmental and human rights regulations. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been promoted as an opportunity to ensure the proper conduct of these corporations, however, these guidelines are voluntary, self-regulated and guarantee no legal or criminal accountability. This thesis attempts to confront the continued reinforcement of neoliberal values through the promotion of CSR of Canadian mining corporations in the corporate mainstream media. This document will argue that the dissemination of the neoliberal ideologies through these media pertaining to this particular topic leads to public obfuscation surrounding these issues and public policy in favour of corporate interests. Through the theoretical foundations of the fifth filter of the Propaganda Model and by conducting a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of two Canadian newspapers, the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star, I will assess the ideological underpinnings of the coverage of this topic to uncover its hegemonic discourse.