Jurgen Habermas and the concept of the Public Sphere

Habermas created the idea of the public sphere that is a virtual community where people are able to spread ideas and opinions to one another which can be done through the use of media. this public sphere can be used to influence other people. He also explained how the public sphere is a direct way companies can communicate to consumers.

James Curran & Jean Seaton – the theory of the liberal free press

James Curran and Jean Seaton discussed Habermas ideas about the public sphere and how they are relevant to media today in terms of education and government. Curran also described that the media is a public watchdog which looks over the state. In Jean Seaton and James Currens book ‘power without responsibility’ they speak about the idea of liberal free press and the the ownership of the media and there influences on the media we consume.

Noam Chomsky – the 5 filters that manufacture consent

Chomsky believed that institutions controlled what their audience believed by:

• Ownership: the leaders want their views and profit which affect the views presented
• The role of advertising: The product for advertising is the audience and therefore can sell their ideas at a price which benefits the advertisers and the media
• The Media Elite: Influencing the media narrative to benefit them
• Flak: To discredit other sources when they do not agree with their own
• The Common Enemy: By uniting the audience against a group to target someone

Louis Althusser – interpellation & Ideological State Apparatus

This is when the state uses sources such as the media, religion and school to convey and control the people in to believing what they want. Interpellation is the process of getting a population to believe that message and a formation of that belief

Antonio Gramsci – the concept of hegemony / hegemonic struggle

A hegemonic idea is a dominant idea that most people believe and therefore the hegemony is a widely held belief that the dominant population hold. The hegemonic struggle is when a radical text challenges this hegemony and therefore is a difference of opinions when powers differ.