Week 2: “The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article”

According to Habermas, what role did newspapers play in the emergence of the public sphere?

Newspapers are accessible to all citizens and plays an important role as a media of the public sphere. Newspapers changed from being mere institutions for the publication of news to the medium for public opinion. Newspapers were also the “pioneers” to revolutionary movement, and acts as a symbolic body to the struggle for freedom and public opinion. Now, the newspaper is a dealer of public opinion instead of a vendor of mere compilations of notices and news.

Habermas, J 2009 ‘The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article’, in Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks, Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, pp. 73-78.