DEFINITIONS Public sphere: The concept associated with the work of German social theorist Jurgen Habermas from his influential Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (1989). Informed by Enlightenment philosophy, the public sphere is, according to Habermas, instru- mental in the constitution of liberal democratic society. In Habermas’s formulation, the public sphere is a realm characterized by reasoned debate among equals, in which members of a public discuss matters of common concern. Community media: Participatory media organizations that provide local populations with access to communication technologies. Community media organizations such as Manhattan Neighborhood Network, public access television in New York City (US), The Issues Magazine, a street paper in Dublin (IR), and Bush Radio, community radio in Cape Town (SA), are instru- mental in supporting popular participation in public discourse. Subaltern counterpublics: Members of oppressed, subordinate or marginalized groups – women, working people, immigrants, people of colour, homeless people, lesbians and gays – who form alternative discursive realms for purposes of promoting group solidarity and challenging social, political and economic relations of dominance and subordination. Introduction Few concepts have greater relevance to contemporary media studies than Habermas’s (1989) notion of the public sphere. A German sociologist, Habermas Community Media and the Public Sphere 15 Kevin Howley 15-Devereux-3566.qxd 4/9/2007 7:56 PM Page 342