ABSTRACT
This study examines the public sphere credentials of the media (press, radio, television and new communication technologies) in Fifth Republic France. Commercial ownership and control of much of the contemporary media, image-based electoral competition and a legacy of state interference in news management have severely undermined the capacity of the French media to function effectively as a public sphere. State financial support and regulation to promote pluralism and diversity have met with mixed success, as the larger domestic media companies seek to pursue commercially-driven corporate strategies in transnational European markets. Finally, the potentially democratizing impact of the introduction of new communication technologies still remains largely a matter of speculation. In general, the French experience during the Fifth Republic demonstrates the difficulties rather than the possibilities of creating and maintaining a mediatized public sphere which avoids the pitfalls of state control and market domination.
