This article reviews the relationship between money and influence in civic life. It looks at the contemporary conditions of civic speech and discussion and explores how far these are based on spending power. The question of the regulation of the relationship between money and communicative opportunity is raised and some of the norms and assumptions underlying present regulatory measures explored. The issues are placed in the context of the author's ideas about the character of `the new public', transformed by the economic and cultural terms of television, and the way in which the USA differs from other countries in its civic culture is briefly discussed.
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