According to German theorist Jürgen Habermas, a public sphere is “A group of ‘private’ persons who could assemble to discuss matters of common ‘public’ interest” In essence, Habermas’s theory of a public sphere is a social space where anyone can express their opinions freely in terms of dealing with public interests. There are many forms of media today that resemble the concepts of public spheres. Though, contrary to Habermas’ theory, forums, blogs and other websites are not comprised of physical space, one could argue that this ‘space’ could also be defined by our modern modes of exchanging ideas.
The Daily Kos: State of the Nation website features a variety of public issues that all bloggers can comment on. Topics on the website range from public predictions of the World series to A summary of the Swine Flu vaccination process. From what I’ve read, the articles themselves mostly present factual information. The discussions that follow allow for very opinionated comments where everyone is free to share their views.
Habermas explains how public spheres are formed when individuals assemble and form a public body. In some ways, all of the contents displayed in The Daily Kos: State of the Nation were first written in individual private spheres (like the comforts of our own homes for instance.) before they were published and shared on the website, which in itself represents the public body. Thus, it is fair to say that The Daily Kos can be considered as a strong public sphere according to Habermas’ theory.
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