Electronic media and civil society

In contrast to mass media, which established a kind of global public opinion, interactive media seems to support the development of Teiloeffentlichkeiten ("partial publics"), which are discourses characterised by context-specific argumentation strategies and special themes. We assume that interactive electronic media will not substitute for the traditional mass media, but will be useful for pre-institutional forms of public opinion, as they can be found in nongovernmental organizations, community pressure groups, local activities and so on. Following this, electronic media will probably support movements of the socalled civil society.
The question remains still open, whether electronic media might help to find a more global political consensus within a society, by overcoming the discourse specific perspectives.