According to The Second Draft, what historically has been the role of media in democracies?
History tells us that the “public sphere” in modern, constitutional societies arose from the conversations of people empowered by the new technologies of communication – printing, papers. Especially through newspapers, this public conversation contributed vitally to establishing and maintaining civil societies, dedicated as much as they can at any given time, to the freedom and legal equality of its citizens. In a sense, the emergence of an independent news media and an informed and active public was created the actors who established civil societies as sovereign nations from the late 18th century onwards. Radio, TV, and now the Internet, have all intensified the power and expanded the diversity of this public sphere, drawing new lines between public and private. The internet, in particular, looks like an innovation whose magnitude in its impact on the current world is comparable to that of the printing press on Northern Europe in the 16th century. Websites before 2000 will be like inc
