Hartmut Wessler is Professor in the Institute for Media and Communication at the University of Mannheim.

• AcknowledgmentsList of Figures and TablesIntroductionChapter 1: The Bourgeois Public Sphere and its CriticsChapter 2: Nurturing Communicative ActionChapter 3: Media for Deliberative DemocracyChapter 4: Mediated Public SpheresChapter 5: Deliberative Qualities of News and Discussion MediaChapter 6: Non-Deliberative Media DiscourseChapter 7: Counterpublics and the Role of EmotionsConclusionReferencesIndex

“It would have been contribution enough to finally supply the English-speaking world with a primer on Habermas’s thinking about the role of media in the public sphere. Yet Wessler goes further. That he manages to make this book accessible for students, while retaining its relevance for scholars, is astounding. A tour de force.”Scott Althaus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign“Wessler demonstrates his solid grasp of Habermas’s oeuvre and reveals its importance for scholarly research and democracy. His exemplary presentation makes the book a pedagogical masterpiece, worthy of many, many readers.”Jostein Gripsrud, University of Bergen"well-written and accessible"European Journal of Communication