What is the public sphere? At its most foundational level, the public sphere is a space where people are able to share their thoughts, questions, or opinions on various topics. German sociologist Jürgen Habermas (1989), known as the father of the public sphere, originally coined the term as “an arena, independent of government… and also enjoying autonomy from partisan economic forces, which is dedicated to rational debate… and which is both accessible to entry and open to inspection by the citizenry. It is here, in the public sphere, that public opinion is formed”. Since then the concept has been highly contested among political philosophers and sociologists. Many have questioned the theoretical foundation of the public sphere, how opinions …show more content…
Most recently, ongoing academic debate has focused on the impact of the internet and other technological advancements of the twenty-first century on the public sphere. A close analysis of online interaction illustrates that the internet does not appear to live up to Habermas’s notion of the public sphere, as this idealized vision is practically impossible to achieve. Many internet platforms such as online discussion boards, online media, and social media contain characteristics of the public sphere, but none perfectly align with the required criteria. These platforms should instead be viewed as “public spaces” that strive towards the ideal by promoting some degree of freedom of expression and democratic participation. In Habermas’s (1989) book The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, he begins by defining the public sphere as a virtual or imaginary community composed of people gathered together to articulate the needs of their society. His work then analyzes the historical circumstances that generated and shaped the public sphere, ultimately making it the cornerstone of democratic society and the quintessential method of democratic communication. As literacy rates, access to written works, and critical journalism increased during the
The commercials appear in the press and reduce the matters to entertainment and trivialities. Given that television is the primary channel for public communication, it programs people’s minds through their images and determines the direction the people take. Postman claims that these claims are not a form of criticism of the visual arts, but types of communication become positive or adverse contingent on the link they have to symbols and functions in the social order. Television, the internet, and social media pay a similar role in the society. Since the emergence of technology a few decades ago, the various forms of communication has developed. The internet, being one of them, is primarily an international computer linkage that began over four decades ago. It is a global open linkage of networks depending on the protocol. The latest emergence of the contemporary internet is social media which consists of applications grounded on technological and ideological establishments of Web 2.0 and which facilitate the formation and exchange of use produced content (Haier, Flynn & Sternberg). It is a new kind of interaction
In Nicholas Carr’s article “How Social Media Is Ruining Politics”, Carr writes about the effects that social media has on politics. In his article, Carr focuses more on the negative effect that social media has when it comes to politics. Some points that he makes about social media include specific examples like the recent presidential campaigns, how other technological advances over the years have effected politics, and the effectiveness that social media has on politics
Public broadcasting was birthed, was to ensure that there is a medium where every voice had a platform. The goal was to ensure that citizens have access to information is essential in balancing the nation. Taras (2001) borrows a quote from Lowe and Juart (2005), who sate that public broadcasting “is to build social capital by “bridging” “bonding” and “witnessing”, but most of all by treating audience members as citizens rather than as consumers” (lowe & jauert, 2005).
Media finds its central role in the democratic debate in providing information, analysis, and a diversity of perspectives to the public. In recent years, with what is known as a media revolution, the amount of telecommunication outlets has increased dramatically. Often called “a product of healthy market competition,” the media revolution has theoretically expanded the public’s access to a multitude of facts, opinions, and general information (Miroff, et al. 2015). However, with a
Jeff Jarvis is a journalist, professor, and public speaker. In his book, “Public Parts”, Jarvis’s own opinions on “publicness” are stated plainly. He sees both social and personal benefits to living a totally public life on the internet. David Kirkpatrick is a technology journalist and author. He offers no opinion of his own on subject of total public disclosure. He has written two books on the social media giant Facebook. Kirkpatrick’s book “The Facebook Effect” was reviewed by David Pogue in The New York Times, Sunday Book Review. Pogue wrote, “You come away with a creepy new awareness of how a directory of college students is fast becoming a directory of all humanity — one that’s in the hands of a somewhat strange 26-year-old wearing a T-shirt and rubber Adidas sandals.” His book may leave readers more cautious than ever about what information they themselves are uploading to the
Seyla Benhabib's "Models of Public Space" lays out two important themes: 1) the fact that the split between the public and the private always has been and, she avers, should always remain open to negotiation and 2) the need to take into account and to criticize the work of German philosopher, Jürgen Habermas. "All struggles against oppression in the modern world begin by re-defining what had previously been considered 'private,' non-public, ...
In conclusion, Carr and Gladwell’s essays have proven that the internet positive effects are outweighed by its negative effects. Carr has found he is unable to finish a full text anymore or concentrate. He thinks that the internet has taken our natural intelligence and turned it into artificial intelligence. Gladwell discusses how nowadays, social activism doesn’t have the same risk or impact as former revolutions such as the Civil Rights Movement. The internet is mostly based on weak ties based among people who do not truly know each other and would not risk their lives for their
Public sphere, in rhetoric, a place for citizens to express their ideas and opinion, are becoming an important concept in China during 1990s. The concept of Public Sphere was originated during 18th century by German scholar Hannah Arendt, with analyzing of the human condition, the origins of totalitarianism and the plight of the modern constitutional issues in the public domain, thus Hannah Arendt opened the public sphere theory study of the regiment.
...phere as the “sphere of private people who join together to form a ‘public’” and through the celebrification of politicians, the public sphere has been widened. We live in a world where anyone in the news, a politician, a footballer, a reality TV star, is a celebrity. Although we do not need to know the behind-the-scenes of each of their lives, it is of interest to the public and stories that are interesting to the public, sell the most newspapers. But because people buy newspapers because of celebrity gossip etc, the public sphere widens as a result. This stark fact was candidly recognised by Rupert Murdoch and as the head of News International, he described his company as being “in the entertainment business” (Shawcross, 1992: 261) and for this reason, the celeberification of politicians will neither cease, nor damage democratical debate within the public sphere.
As this critical juncture begins to take place, there has been much debate between scholars as to whether we should be enthusiastic or wary of these new changes. In Digital Disconnect and in his lectures, McChesney observes both views in an attempt to advance the discussion. On one side, the celebrants are embracing the Internet as a medium that will change society for the better. In Digital Disconnect, McChesney says, “In sum, the celebrants reaffirm one of the most important original arguments from the 1990s, that the Internet will be a force for democracy and good worldwide, ending monopolies of information and centralized control over communication” (McChesney 8). In my opinion, this celebrant view should only be regarded as a best-case scenario because of the unexpected obstacles for society that can...
The idea that lies behind public journalism is that citizens that lack any formal experience are able to utilize the tools of modern technology alongside the limitless Internet to practice a form of journalism that allows the audience to inform one another. There is a sense of freedom with public journalism, also known as civic journalism. In this digital age, public journalism is easier to access due to laptops and cellular devices. It is true that public jou...
The main aim of this report is to analyze the impacts of changes in the media concerning the societal and individual view of politics and politicians. The report also describes significant milestones in mass media since the year 1960 and examines the impact of mass media on how people think politically. The report then considers the effect of technological advancements in mass media and the effect on the results of elections. The use of mass media has increased over the last fifty years in that it is a primary medium through which supporters of various campaigners share their ideas and views concerning politicians and different political parties. Through social media, behaviors and performance of several activists have brought
In today’s world, the media almost dominates society. No matter a station’s political affiliation or the conglomerates’ beliefs, a vast variety of topics are covered almost daily. Whether it’s breaking news, feature stories, or heart-warming cartoons, the audience is almost certain to tune into any news station and learn about what is going on in the world, and e-democracy falls under that category. When it comes to anything that concerns the government, there is going to be media coverage, especially if it involves scandal or court cases. Stories vary in importance and depth, but overall they give us insight into certain topics. CNN’s Dan Caterinicchia offered the people a look at what E-Democracy is and how a man from Minnesota lobbied to make e-democracy easier by using an e-mailing list as well as an online public forum. According to Caterinicchia (1999), Minnesota e-democracy Chairman, Steven Clift, believes that such a practice would make E-Democracy an...
The first is the crisis of viability. The chance of success in the journalism in the mainstream is approaching a decline due to the transformations in technologies and new access to multiple sources of information. The second is a crisis in civic adequacy. The contributions of journalism to citizenship and democracy have begun to shift and this shift has caused a question of the relevancy of journalism to democratic processes. In a democratic society journalism plays the role of the government watchdog. The effectiveness of society’s watchdog is now being challenged and in turn alternating the structure of the current democratic society. Many critical theorists of the press during the beginning of the 20th century were concerned with finding appropriate forms of public regulation of the press and journalism to ensure that journalists are writing “news and information about public affairs which sustains and nurtures citizen information, understanding and engagement and thereby a democratic polity” (Cushion and Franklin, 2015: 75) (Dahlgren, Splichal 2016). Journalism is a political entity that influences and informs the public. It is meant to work as a source of public information that helps and does not hinder the general public specifically in political processes. The article
Public participation relieve doubt that citizen's offerings will affect the policy process. It is of the assumption that a person who will be impinged by a decision, has the right to be associated in decision making.