268 Mediated Publics
not presuppose agreement as implied by theories of representation, com-
munity proposes such an agreement [... ] Public space is a practice con-
sciously selected, a matter of options. It is a practice of self-recognition
and affirmation in the context of a field of possibilities where the guide-
lines are not yet established but will begin to be marked.”^15 For Querrien,
the Soviet queue lines represent a “minimal public space” because of the
different actions that emerge from them over the course of time (mutual
aid, collective decision making, surveillance). This type of approach,
which anchors public space less in deliberation and more in action,
allows us to consider the introduction of satellite television in Algeria as a
moment where a small public space came to be and out of which emerge
constitutive moments.
The stakes of public space
I have shown elsewhere that Algerians experienced a dramatic expansion
of satellite television since its introduction at the beginning of the 1980s.
I have also described how entire neighborhoods have become “dished
[parabolés]” due to the organizing efforts of viewers grouped as informal
“collectives.”^16 Indeed, from the late 1980s until the late 1990s, the majority
of Algerian viewers gathered in small groups and organized themselves to
acquire a satellite dish, which at that time was only available on the black
market or had to be imported. They also selected the “cable networks” and
had to discuss the practicalities of purchasing the dish and seeing to its
upkeep. These collectives did not exist either in Morocco or Tunisia. In
the latter countries the state surveyed and controlled everything related to
international programming, and, in particular, international news.
any observers have noted Algerians’ rush to participate in these M
collectives, all the while appearing indifferent to the problems in their
immediate surroundings.^17 Of course, one can see a consumer phenom-
enon here; but it is accompanied by a desire for change. This desire is evi-
dent in the debates and discussions that lead up to the decision to hook up
a satellite dish. The decision is influenced by differences in cultural capital,
most notably access to education, as well as relations between the sexes
and the rural versus urban roots of the viewers. To the extent that the