The Concepts:

Representation:

Representation is a huge part of cultures and how they are portrayed in the media. This could possibly effect how people from different backgrounds are effected in everyday life, this is because, how Webb would put it "We live immersed in representation: it is how we understand our environments and each other" (2009, p3). Webb suggests that without representation, we as people would struggle to understand people who are not from the same cultures, or new environments. You could argue that we need representation in order to distinguish yourself from others or relate to others and the things that are seen in media - such as characters from TV.

Most representations come from real life occurrences or common patterns between cultures: "The process of constructing a form X to call attention to something that exists either materially or conceptually" (Danesi 2008, p116), which can develop into stereotypes due to behaviours from a small handful within a community, which more than are often seen as negative - e.g. the stereotype that middle eastern cultures hate first world countries and are therefore terrorists, due to the actions of extremists. These negative representations can affect the way in which people live, for example, due to the media representing Muslims and those from the middle east as terrorists, Muslims who do not agree with extremists are wrongly exposed to racism and discrimination due to their negative representation.
               
via GIPHY

Public Sphere:

The public sphere, simply put, is all the shared ideologies, concerns and political believes within the public, and from these opinions are formed. according to Habermas, "The public sphere is open in principle to all citizens. Citizens act as a public when they deal with matters of general interest without being subject to coercion" (Habermas 1997, p105), this means everyone one is able to discuss their concerns and interests with each other. It allows issues to be raised within the public, and if there is enough power and opinion behind them, these issues can be bought into higher powers such as law and government, who have the power to potentially make change. However, due to different cultures, opinions and concerns, "the public sphere is fragmented and, at best, multiple and diverse in its manifestations" (McGuigan 2012, p3), meaning that there is room for contradicting opinions and ideologies between public spheres. 

                 
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There is plenty of room to change ideologies, concerns and belief within a public sphere by frequently exposing it, as, "high visibility can normalise if the public space where it happens is a central one", (Adut 2012, p252). The LGBQT+ movement is a brilliant example of how a negative public sphere, though exposure and normalisation, can accepted within a large number of public spheres and is now considered a normality. This shows that the public sphere can have a huge impact on how people are excepted, treated and what is considered "normal" within society.

How do they link?

So how do these link? Well, I would argue that representations of people and issues can sway how the public sphere reacts and builds opinions – if something is represented negatively the public sphere is more likely to reject it or cause a political debate in order to attempt to get the government involved and potentially change and or address the issues caused.

                 
via GIPHY