To be able to participate in community life and make political choices, citizens heavily rely on information. They need to know what is going on and the options that they should weigh, debate and act upon. An essential element for a functioning public sphere, therefore, is information.
Whereas formerly, communication mostly happened on a face-to-face basis in large and complex societies, (mass) media has evolved as the principal source of information. It acts as a transport medium for the information necessary for a citizen's participation in the public sphere. Ideally there should be a wide range of media, that represent the diverse opinions and viewpoints on issues of public interest existent in a society and which are independent of the state and society's dominant economic forces.
Media, therefore, decides which topics and issues are on the agenda or not; which individuals or societal groups are given broadcasting time or publishing space and which aspects and facts are presented or suppressed. The media has the ability to influence public opinion and those controlling the media are to a certain extent capable of altering the nature of discourse in their desired direction.
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