Based on a review of La Soci?t? de Connivence, this article first examines Paul Beaud's endeavour to remedy the fact that communication had been forgotten, which he ascribed to the sociology of the media. He focused more closely on social mediations than on the media, and reincorporated communication studies into the analysis of transformations of the social structure and social relations. The second part of the article is a critical discussion on three points: the analysis of the public sphere; the problems encountered by the choice and application of a critical perspective; and the difficulties facing the programme for a generalized study of social mediations.