Abstract

This article analyzes the role of public opinion in contemporary democracy by focusing on the unfolding concepts of opinion and public and how they have been changed and altered in consequence of television. Most part of the essay is based on an excursus of critiques developed by Giovanni Sartori on the usage of television in political communication. More specifically, two contributions - the essay «Public Opinion» in Elementi di Teoria Politica and Homo Videns - are taken into consideration where he, respectively, provides an exhaustive definition of public opinion in a representative democracy and expresses concerns on the possibility of a truly informed public opinion shaped by television. Finally, the study analyzes the implications of Tv-shaped political communication on democratic theory.