Page 31 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Chapter 2. Literature review

the role of the media from the perspective of information equality, indicating that a

good public sphere function for the mass media offers access for citizens to engage in
rational and critical discussion and to obtain information about the actions and proceed-
ings of governmental institutions.
Another contribution of the media in the public sphere is publicity (Chambers,
2000). Since information garnered from the public sphere reflects the interest of various

groups in society, disseminating such information through the mass media can attract
extensive attention from the public. It also draws the public to examine the issue, which
positively influences the generation of rational and critical deliberations within the pub-

lic sphere, rather than turbulent and irrational invective. Because the media represents
public opinion, it offers opportunities for people to articulate their views that conse-
quently shape government actions (Curran, 1991).
However, Habermas (1989) questioned whether the mass media, especially the
commercial broadcast media, can isolate individuals from each other and impede cit-

izens from coming together for vibrant discussion. This may lead to a threat to the
physical existence of communities with shared interests and opinions in public life, and
there are potential risks in transmitting and amplifying ‘the rational-critical debate of

private people assembled into a public’ (Habermas, 1989, p.188). As a result, Habermas
blamed the mass media for the collapse of the public sphere, where the public is divid-
ed into ‘minorities of specialists who put their reason to use non-publicly and the great
mass of consumers whose receptiveness is public but uncritical’ (Habermas, 1989,
p.175). In other words, the media splits the public into intellectuals and grassroots,

which is inconsistent with the premises in the construction of the public sphere. Mass
media intervention may also manipulate the public sphere and lead to a manufactured
public sphere, which may not be able to achieve the goal of influencing a government’s

actions (Wu, 2007).
Although Habermas (1989) criticised commercial media for the decreased in-
fluence of the public sphere, the media did perform as a social platform in connecting
individuals, increasing participation, expanding the realm of debates, and forming ra-
tional critical public opinion (Garnham, 2000; Curran, 2002). Technology development

15
15