The article argues that the role of T. G. Masaryk in Czech as well as Austrian society before 1914 can best be understood as an intellectual expert on religion. It analyzes letters sent to Masaryk by his followers in order to show, that the unusually far-ranging influence he commanded was based on his perception as a sincere champion of a new kind of religion, which transcended simple, anticlerical confrontation. This function of a religious intellectual expert could work precisely only because Masaryk did not specify what kind of religion he sought, but rather appeared as a "religious type", that very different – and conflicting – opinions could relate to.
Both Peter Sloterdijk and Richard David Precht have characteristics of the so-called media intellectuals in their gesture and appearance and also implicitly refer to the protection of human rights. Whereby Sloterdijk seems to be focused on the rights of the individual and his individual interests, a Richard David Precht is more focused on community as well as individual interests. It will be briefly outlined how they can be viewed as representatives of two media tendencies of the media public in the German public - or to establish certain contradictions.