Media and Public Spheres presents empirical studies of print, recorded music, movies, radio, television and the Internet that reveal how media structure public spheres as well as how people use media to participate in the public sphere. They explore the nature of public spheres, how they are deliberative, egalitarian, exclusive or alternative, and the dilemmas that each of them present. The studies include cases of media, present and past, in North America, Europe and Asia. The contributors collectively have authored and edited over 40 books. They are from the US, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Australia and China. They are familiar with varied media and political systems and span a wide array of scholarly fields, including communication and media studies, political sciences, sociology, psychology and history.