This book presents a new conceptual model for understanding the role of the media in the construction of public knowledge, belief and opinion in the context of a radically changed communications infrastructure. Drawing on a series of empirical studies conducted over nearly a decade, Happer deploys evidence of a 'disconnect' between neoliberal media and the public which is rooted in a disaffection with a mainstream political culture which has failed to deliver the societal outcomes promised. As people are pushed towards alternative digital sources, new communities of opinion are produced in ways which polarise publics and ultimately limit the potential for social change.

Offering an innovative and urgently needed new sociological analysis, this book is required reading for an inter-disciplinary field of media, journalism, and politics/IR which has largely abandoned questions of media power and public opinion management, as well as policymakers, science communicators and journalists.

Key points of the book:

1) public opinion formation and why people may come to different positions through the development of a new model

2) the societal outcomes produced when a widespread disconnect between journalism and public opinion emerges

3) the atomisation of opinion and its relations to newly constructed opinion communities (with consideration of the role of class)

4) the turn to digitally available alternatives which enable new, less visible power agents to exert control.

Reviews

'Poised to become a cornerstone in media and audience studies, Happer's book offers a ground-breaking model for understanding how demands for change are accommodated into systems of power. Moving from the comprehensive methodologies pioneered by the Glasgow Media Group and extensive empirical evidence across a variety of case studies, Happer expands the field into uncharted territories.

This is a much-needed work for anyone seeking to understand the evolving landscape of communication and its impact on public opinion, and for those who advocate for a focus on solutions to societal problems in media studies. In particular, researchers will appreciate the 6-level working model to analyse opinion formation, and external actors may use it to monitor and develop effective policies supporting democratic debates during crises.'

Dr Giuliana Tiripelli, Senior Lecturer, De Montfort University

'This is an elegantly written book that will be of great interest to media academics and students around the world concerned with media power. It offers an empirically rich examination of the media's influence on public opinion and social change in the context of public disaffection and a transformed media landscape.'

Professor James Curran, Goldsmiths, University of London

'Questions of trust in journalism and public communication have rarely been more urgent than now. This valuable book offers an expert guide to the economic, social and cultural changes in the media industries that have made those questions so vital today, and sets out important responses to spiralling culture wars.'

Professor Graham Meikle, University of Westminster

Introduction
1 The disconnect: mis-managing public trust
2 Filtering for opinion: a new conceptual model
3 Class, education and media cultures: 'them' versus 'us'
4 The new gatekeepers of digital content and opinion
5 Climate, COVID and the cost of living: getting up close to global crises
Conclusion
Appendix: Empirical studies and datasets 2011-2020
Bibliography
Index