Expanding the Public Sphere through Computer ... - ResearchGate

Expanding the Public Sphere
through Computer-Mediated Communication:
Political Discussion about Abortion in a Usenet Newsgroup
by
Steven M. Schneider
Submitted to the Department of Political Science on May 2, 1997 in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
Political Science
ABSTRACT
This thesis examines a conversation about abortion that occurred within the Usenet newsgroup
“talk.abortion” between April 1, 1994 and March 31, 1995. It tests the hypothesis
that the form of discourse fostered by computer mediated discussion provides opportunities
to expand the informal zone of the public sphere. Specific criteria by which a public
sphere can be evaluated for its goodness of fit with the idealized public sphere described
by Habermas are proposed and applied to the ongoing conversation.
The conversation analyzed consisted of nearly 46,000 messages written by almost three
thousand authors in nearly 8,500 different threads. The public sphere created by the participants
in the newsgroup was found to be diverse and reciprocal, but lacking in equality
and quality. Equality, achieved with equal distribution of voice among the speakers, was
not found in the newsgroup conversation, as participation was highly concentrated among
a few participants. Quality, measured by the tendency of participants in the newsgroup to
stay “on-topic,” was also lacking in the group. On the other hand, the conversation was
found to be highly diverse, as its size contracted and expanded considerably over time, and
the participants included both a consistent, regular group as well as a subset of constantly
changing contributors. Finally, the authors in the newsgroup were reciprocal with many
others, and groups of participants were not systematically excluded from interaction by
other groups.
Newsgroups are unquestionably a component of the informal zone of the public sphere.
Thus, it is suggested that the definition of the public sphere be expanded to include all
forms of “associational space,” providing the opportunity for citizens to converse with
each other. Even those forms of associational space with no clearly identified political
activity resulting from the discussions contribute to the opinion- and will-formation exercise
that is the function of the public sphere in a democratic society. Usenet newsgroups
provide extensive opportunities for individuals to comment freely and autonomously on
topics of public concern, and more importantly to engage in public discourse with other
citizens about these issues.
Thesis Supervisor: Joshua Cohen
Title: Professor of Political Science and Philosophy