Public Opinion. Does it exist today?

I've been doing some reading on public opinion for a paper I'm writing for my PhD and I got to thinking about whether there is really public opinion today. I'm using public opinion in the way the term was first used: a collective 'truth' or belief amongst a group of citizens and traditionally these came about in public meeting places. As these meeting places started to become obsolete, the media began to take up that mantle and convey public opinion (though its questionable whether it portrayed public opinion that was generated by the public).

So can we say there is such a thing as public opinion today? The mass media are all dominated by big business and conglomerates and if they are conveying 'public opinion' then it might be more like public profit. Can we say the Internet is the new meeting place for the public to generate their collective view? I'm not so sure. The blogosphere for sure is not a space of public opinion, its a few (and in the bigger scheme of things it really is a small number) ranters going on about their own personal issues and gripes, daily lives, life changing moments etc. There doesnt seem to be a collective voice and we dont really seem to be talking about anything of any real importance! Bring back Public Opinion.