• Public Sphere (Offentlingkeit):

• Concept coined by German Philosopher Jurgen Habermas.

• Defines a social space where individuals discuss societal issues and
influence political action.
• Not confined to a physical space; it's a virtual or imaginary community.
• Acts as a theater for political participation through dialogue.
• A realm where public opinion is formed, advocating that legitimate
governments should heed it.
• Conditions include the formation of public opinion, access for all citizens,
unrestricted conversation, freedom from control, and debate over
governmental rules.
• Propaganda:
• Non-objective information used to influence and push an agenda.
• Utilizes selective facts or loaded language to evoke emotional rather than
rational responses.
• Employed through various mediums: paintings, cartoons, posters, films,
radio, TV, and websites.
• Propaganda Model (Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky):
• Highlights systemic biases in mass media attributed to structural economic
causes.
• Applicable beyond the US media to countries sharing similar economic
structures.
• Epistemic Merit Model (Sheryl Tuttle Ross):
• Emphasizes a threefold communication model: Sender-Message-Receiver.
• Defines four conditions for a message to be considered propaganda:
intention to persuade, sender on behalf of socio-political institution/cause,
socially significant recipient group, and an epistemic struggle challenging
others' thoughts.
• Authoritarian Theory:
• Originated from Plato's philosophy, adopted by medieval European
monarchs for press control.
• Suppresses press freedom to avoid negative perceptions of the
government.
• Governing elite regulate communication between media and audience,
fostering unified thinking.
• Soviet Communist Model:
• Evolved after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, controlling media in the
former Soviet Union (modern Russia) and present-day Cuba.
• Emphasizes serving the interests of the working class under government
guidance.
• Controls media like Authoritarian Theory but promotes equality and filters
news to align with audience interests.
• Libertarian Theory:
• Originated in the US, emphasizing freedom and democracy.
• Allows media liberty but criticized for excesses like yellow journalism and
sensationalism.
• Social Responsibility Theory (SRT):
• Media owned privately and operates guided by ethical standards.
• Questions sensationalized news despite having media freedom.
• Democratic Participant:
• Empowers press freedom, encourages audience participation in news by
expressing personal viewpoints.
• Development Communication Media:
• Focuses on media's role in a nation's development by engaging the target
population and addressing pertinent issues.
• Agenda-Setting Media:
• Global news agencies wield power to set agendas independently of ruling
powers, ensuring significant events reach the public.
• Gatekeeping Media:
• Demonstrates traditional and mainstream media's influence by selecting
and deciding the relevance of information for the audience.