Media and democracy

MAJOR POLITICS ESSAY
Question One
Are the mass media beneficial to or detrimental to a democratic public sphere?
The public sphere or what can often be termed the public domain can be characterized as the images that are presented by the mass media through advertising, television, popular newspapers, magazines, photography and the Internet. Whilst all of these are important instruments of the media, for the purpose of clarity and word limitations most will only be acknowledged not addressed “The popular media of the modern world is the place where and the means by which the public is created and has its being.”

Throughout this essay it will be shown that the mass media are not only beneficial to a democratic public sphere but at times can also be characterized as detrimental to that public domain. However within any democracy the mass media are definitely a fundamental component in the process of governmental accountability.

The right to public communication and debate...