Public interest in the neo-liberal order: The role of the EU austerity model in the morphing of the Portuguese media landscape

Abstract

In this article, I examine the role of the EU austerity model in the morphing of the Portuguese media landscape by analyzing it in relation to the growing dependency of the Portuguese democracy on external resources and to the associated issues concerning public interest and capital interests. Portugal’s case illustrates well the conflict between capitalism and democracy in the neo-liberal era. It demonstrates how governments no longer have the degree of control they once had over their own state due not only to the presence of supranational institutions, but also to their dependence on investors – which has led to the increasing political power of large corporations over national governments and over national public interest. In this process, the state plays an active role in promoting the free play of market forces through public policy. Against this backdrop, one may also suggest that the news media might no longer be an adequate agent of public interest under the neo-liberal order.