Thisbookisacritiqueofthepublicsphere,bothasthecentrepieceofsomeliberaltheoryaboutpoliticalcommunications,andasadescriptionofactuallyexistingmediapracticeinIrelandandbeyond-intraditionalcommercialnewsmediaandinsocialmedia.Writteninanaccessiblestyle,butwithendnotesasnecessary,itisacalltomoreanddeepercriticalthinkingaboutmedia,oldandnew,aswellasaconsiderationofthecommunicativeneedsofapresentandfuturemovementfortransformativepoliticalandeconomicchange.Thebookintroducesthepublicsphereasanhistoricideaandideal,aplacewheredemocraticsubjectsdeliberateandensurecivilsocietyhasavoiceatthetableofstate.Itchallengesthatidea,bothintermsofitslimitationsinaglobalisedeconomyanditsultimatelytechnocratic-consensualmodelofpolitics,itsevasionofwhatLaclauandMouffecall’theineradicabilityofantagonism’.Italsobeginsapolitical-economycritiqueofthemedia,thepresumedhomeofthepublicsphereinthepost-18th-century-coffeehouseera.Whatwecanandcan’tlearnbylookingatmediabehaviourthroughthelensofitsproprietors’commercialinterestsisdiscussed.Thebiasesofbroadcastersandnewspapersintherecenteconomiccrisisareconsidered,alongwiththepressuresandconsequencesofdecliningprintcirculationandmigrationofadvertisingonline,aswellassomeinitialquestionsaboutpluralismandthecontinuingimportantroleofthepublicservicemedia,inIrelandandelsewhere.ThischapterincludesanextensivereviewofpreviouslyunpublishedresultsofastudyintonewspapercoverageoftheIrishmovementagainsttheIraqwar.PublicSpherealsomovesthediscussiononline,where,thoughnearlyinfinitepluralismappearstoruletheday,powerandfreedomaremoreelusive.Undertheregimeof’communicativecapitalism’,weareall’contentproviders’,generallywithoutremuneration.Thecontinuingcentralityofadvertisingandcorporatepowerindigitalmediaunderlinestheneedtokeepoureyesonthemoneyevenwhentalkingaboutanetworkedinformationenvironment.Thefamiliarquestionofwhetheronlineengagementactsasasubstitutefor’realworld’politicsissupplemented,inthischapter,withanexaminationofthe’real’contentofvirtualpolitics,andofwhetherwecanexplainsomeoftheweirdestrecentturnsintheglobalpoliticaljourneyinlightofspecialfeaturesoftheonlineworld,suchasthe’fakenews’thatiswidelysupposedtohaveelectedDonaldTrump.Finally,welookatmediaalternatives,ifany,tothecorporatecontrolofpotentiallytransformativecommunications.AlthoughIregardtheconceptofthepublicsphereashopelesslyinadequateatbest,Ido,inkeepingwiththethemeoftheSireachtseries,seektoimagineahealthierenvironmentforpubliccommunicationinthecontextofabetterIrelandandabetterworld.
