An American Theory of the Public Sphere.

This article discusses the formation of Americans' perceptions about their country, their rights, and their nationalism and what entities shape these perceptions. The author looks at Paul Starr's "The Creation of the Media: Political Origins of Modern Communications" and offers a theory about the media's role in shaping the American public sphere. Starr asserts that the U.S. government, in its early years, subsidized and encouraged newspapers, postal service, and public education to give the population the ability to communicate and participate in the government. Starr also provides a history of the development and shaping of the media as we know it today.