The New Public: Professional Communication and the Means of Social Influence

Hardback

Main Details

Title The New Public: Professional Communication and the Means of Social Influence
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Leon H. Mayhew
SeriesCambridge Cultural Social Studies
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:348
Dimensions(mm): Height 236,Width 157
ISBN/Barcode 9780521481465
ClassificationsDewey:302.2
Audience
Professional & Vocational

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 4 September 1997
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Professional specialists, using market research and promotional campaigns, have come to dominate public communication. The modern public of the Enlightenment, based on free discussion, has, in Leon Mayhew's terms, been replaced by a 'New Public,' subject to mass persuasion through systematic advertising, lobbying, and other forms of media manipulation. Mayhew examines this sociological development in terms of discourse and social influence, offering an original theory which bridges Talcott Parsons and Jurgen Habermas. Most importantly, he shows how the rhetorical techniques of the professional communicators are designed to avoid having to defend their claims, thereby precluding meaningful discussion of public issues. As a result, institutions providing forums for good-faith, two-way discourse no longer exist, community through communication cannot be achieved, and the social order is unstable.