The public sphere is an area in society where people can discuss political or important issues from an academic perspective. The goal of the public sphere is to gain the ideas of the public or the public interest. This goal is important in the view of those who support regulation because the public sphere helps to circulate ideas and diversity and allows democracy to function which allows individuals to express their freedom of speech and allows for the diversity of media content. Structure and agency are also important in the idea of the public sphere. The term structure and agency is used by individuals to explain society. Structure is defined as “the objective complexes of social institutions within which people live and act.” (Little, Daniel. "Understanding Society.”: New Ideas about Structure and Agency. 19 Mar. 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.). Agents are “human deliberators and choosers who navigate their life plans in an environment of constraints.” (Little, Daniel. "Understanding Society.”: New Ideas about Structure and Agency. 19 Mar. 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.). The concepts of structure and agency influence the pubic sphere because individuals plan different solutions and agents (regulations) in order to allow democracy to function correctly. Though the public sphere supports freedom of speech it also opposes this idea. Individuals involved in the public sphere …show more content…
The first amendment of the Unite States Constitution “prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press” ("First Amendment to the United States Constitution." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.). Censorship allows the government to allow only certain types of media content from being produced (such as movies, television shows, books, newspapers, etc.). The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is a section of the government that places certain regulations on media content. The Commissions Act “prohibits the FCC from censoring broadcast material, in most cases, and from making any regulation that would interfere with freedom of speech” (“The FCC and Freedom of Speech.” The FCC and Freedom of Speech. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.). This act allows for the FCC to ensure a circulation of media content and diversity of ideas and opinions to be expressed. Individuals who believe that regulation is defective argue that the FCC and government’s censoring of media content violates the first amendment. These individuals believe that censoring violates the first amendment because censoring of content can prevent an individual from saying what they want to say on the internet, television, or newspaper. An example