Philip Schlesinger’s new article, ‘After the post-public sphere’ has been published in Media, Culture & Society, https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443720948003. He argues: Debate about the public sphere has been shaped by the boundary-policing of competing political systems and ideologies. Current discussion  reflects the accelerating transition from the mass media era to the ramifying entrenchment of the internet age. It has also been influenced by the vogue for analysing populism. The present transitional phase, whose outcome remains unclear, is best described as an unstable ‘post-public sphere’. States’ responses to the development of the internet have given rise to a new shift of focus, a ‘regulatory turn’. This is likely to influence the future shape of the public sphere.

First published: 17 August 2020

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