Thatcherism won by colonizing the popular press to construct populist common sense

Evidence

To the elaboration of this populist language and the reconstruction of a “free-market” ethic both the excessively high-minded Sir Keith Joseph and the excessively broad-bottomed Rhodes Boyson, both the “disinterested” leader writers of the Times , Telegraph , and the Economist and the ventriloquists of populist opinion in the Mail , the Express , the Star , and the Sun , lent their undivided attention. The colonization of the popular press was a critical victory in this struggle to define the common sense of the times. Here was undertaken the critical ideological work of constructing around “Thatcherism” a populist common sense. — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 1111

Categorization

• XREF: Fits the ‘repressive/ideological state apparatus’ distinction from Marxist state theory and echoes how later populist movements (e.g., Murdoch press, Fox News) operate through press ownership to define ‘common sense.’
• SEED: Essay angle: the deliberate, cross-title ‘colonization’ of a nation’s press as a strategic project — comparing Britain’s 1980s conservative press offensive with today’s billionaire-led news consolidation.