★ Contents Introduction Why the Public Habermas and the Place of the Public Where Is the Public? The Public with a Little Help from the Media Conclusion Further Reading A public sphere is an abstract idea or domain of our collective life, where we can come together to create and recreate opinions. [A Rolling Stones crowd in 1976 at the Knebworth House, UK. Photo: Sérgio Valle Duarte (Wikipedia Commons)] Introduction When we become a citizen in a democracy, it does not guarantee making a difference between the private/personal and the public. As much as the privates comprise a public, the latter can also directly affect the former as the evolution of democracy in the 21st century has shown us. For a cursory distinction, we have the realm of our family life in the private sphere while the public sphere consists of the abstract system in which we as citizens can hold free discussions and debates. Media plays an important role in amplifying the importance of this public sphere, albeit th...