ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyses the question of to what extent the British press has functioned and continues to function as a public sphere. It demonstrates how marketing logic shapes the strategies of TV journalism, including public-service and community campaigns, which were heralded as an effort genuinely to serve the public. The chapter looks at recent developments on US network election campaign coverage and considers the implications of the increasingly sophisticated news-management strategies. It argues that the media do not empower citizens to participate in the public sphere. Rather, they provide a mechanism for elites to speak to each other and conduct their own closed debates about the future of society. The chapter discusses the rise of two alternative public spheres which came to challenge the official one dominated by the state and party.
