• Habermas is a German philosopher and sociologist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism.
• His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere
• “a public space between the private domain and the state in which public opionion was formed and ‘popular’ supervision of government was established”
• The media as watchdog

‘a neutral zone where access to relevant information affecting the public good is widely available’

‘the development of early modern capitalism brought into being an autonomous arena of public debate’

‘the primary democratic role of the media is to act as a public watchdog overseeing the state’