Democracy is important in the public sphere as it allows for people to have an opinion, and depends on an audience that is informed
The public sphere is where everyone is involved and people can interact with each other freely
“a public space between the private domain and the state in which public opinion was formed and ‘popular’ supervision of government was established”
The media and public sphere can be seen as ‘watch dog’
James Curran focuses on Habermas and the concept of the public sphere
In the public interest, created and produced by the public
“created a new public engaged in critical political discussion”
“The media ceased to be an agency of empowerment and rationality”
“Discussion is free of domination and where all those participating in public debate do so on an equal basis”
“Reconstituting private citizens as a public body in the form of public opinion”
Media is said to be ‘free’ however it may not actually be free if it is owned by one person and taking away free will
