Critical interfaces and epistemological differences between the concepts of “public sphere” and “communication field”

Abstract

Research in Political Communication often employs Habermas‟ notion of „public sphere‟ to deal with questions concerning democracy and public deliberation. As a counterpart, Communication research has long employed Bourdieu‟s concept of „field‟ to define the particular dinamics of media production. Although these two concepts have little in common, they are frequently employed as terms of the same equation, as if the „public sphere‟ were directly linked by the constraints of the „media field‟, particularly by freshers in media research. This paper deals with this supposed relationship between these concepts stressing the narrow possibilities this junction, but also stressing some little comon features.