The Megaphone Behind the Myth: The Media’s Role in Shaping Public Discourse About Education Reform

• In Event: Philanthropy, Hidden Strategy, and Collective Resistance: A Primer for Concerned Educators

Abstract

This paper will examine the role that traditional and non-traditional media has played in shaping and influencing public discourse on school reforms. Following a comprehensive discussion of how the media reinforces commonsensical language about the need to reform “failing” schools, this paper will provide a social network analysis of ownership across various media platforms to show how Right-wing philanthropic groups have worked to synthesize the media narrative while they simultaneously have worked to concentrate ownership and power over media outlets. Drawing from the same venture philanthropic donors, this paper will also provide a social network analysis and discussion of the shared connections across a myriad of educational documentaries that while packaged under the guise of liberal commitments to equality and equity, have in fact promoted the same discourse of school failure and silver-bullet reforms like charter schools, school vouchers, and homeschooling.

Author

• T. Jameson Brewer, University of North Georgia