Media and Public Spheres

'Richard Butsch's collection of thoughtful interventions in public sphere media criticism reminds us of the value of the work of Habermas, his descendants, and his dissenters. Taken together, these essays interrogate key concepts behind public sphere theory and its uses over the last twenty years, across a variety of historical and contemporary situations. This is a timely and insightful book with relevance not only to media studies but to a wide sphere of disciplines concerned with democracy, deliberation, and civil society.' - Michele Hilmes, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, Department of Communication Arts and Director of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

'A welcome antidote to the simplistic lamentations about the death of the public sphere and the uncritical celebrations of a new age of mediated democracy. The essays in Richard Butsch's Media and Public Spheres presuppose no such conclusions, instead they explore and examine, in all their complexity, how contemporary media engender or retard public debate and democratic participation. A very valuable collection.' - Stephen Duncombe, Associate Professor of The History and Politics of Media and Culture, New York University, USA

'This book brings together interesting, challenging and thought-provoking approaches to the empirical and theoretical appreciation of the public sphere. The contributors offer astute and insightful analyses of a wide range of expressions of public spheres, prompting us to look at unsuspected places and listen to unacknowledged voices that embody the promise for citizens' connection, participation, awareness and action. This is an important contribution to the debates in the field.' - Katharine Sarikakis, Senior Lecturer in Communications Policy and Director of the Centre for International Communications Research, University of Leeds, UK