Creation of the Media.

• Author: Heim, Shannon M.
• Position: Book review

1. AN ANALYSIS OF CONSTITUTIVE MOTIVES II. AN APPLICATION OF HISTORY III. CONCLUSION Paul Starr's Creation of the Media provides a rich history of the social, political and legal infrastructure that shaped the American media from its earliest origin. Starr examines in incredible detail the political decisions made from approximately 1600 to 1941 regarding public discourse in most of its forms and analyzes how those contributed to the development of the media. (1) Starr analyzes the context of American decision-making through an elaborate comparative analysis of the British, European and Canadian experience in an effort to fully describe the options available to the American power structure at critical points in history. At times the sheer volume of the comparative detail threatens to overwhelm the casual reader, but anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding will embrace Starr's approach with gusto. (2) Starr's narrative includes numerous footnotes to extensive scholarly works and other useful source material. As a result, Creation of the Media represents an exceptional resource for the interested lay reader as well as the dedicated academic.

1. AN ANALYSIS OF CONSTITUTIVE MOMENTS

   Starr's examination of American media history focuses on what he terms "constitutive moments" and choices that shaped the growth of the media. Start posits "[t]echnology and economics cannot alone explain the system of communications we have inherited or the one we are creating." (3) Instead Start points to the influence exerted by politics, finance and power on the evolution of the media. "At times of decision--constitutive moments, if you will--ideas and culture come into play, as do constellations of power, preexisting institutional legacies, and models from other countries." (4) Starr identifies many such constitutive moments and examines the intent of the action as well as the international context of the moment.

   Start breaks constitutive choices about communications into three categories:

   First, the general legal and normative rules concerning such issues as free expression, access to information, privacy, and intellectual property; second, the specific design of communications media, structure of networks, and organization of industries; and third, institutions related to the creation of the intangible and human capital--that is, education, research, and innovation. (5) Of particular interest to Start is how these categories relate to the development and the evolution of the public sphere. (6) Start frequently returns to these themes and the importance of public discussion, public knowledge, and public opinion throughout the book. For example, in his analysis of the role of the Post Office in the development of the media, Starr points out that tying public representatives and their constituents together through improved communications created a larger "public" sphere. (7) The development of the Post Office and the growing national discourse disseminated over its network, facilitated by cheap rates for newspapers and magazines, became an essential instrument for implementing the republican ideas upon which the country was founded. (8) Ironically, and typically, the creators of the national Post Office failed to appreciate at the time the implications of that particular constitutive moment.

   The Creation of the Media goes far beyond a simple recitation of history, even though the history alone justifies significant treatment. By choosing to examine the constitutive moments in history, Starr provides a rich discussion encompassing both the development of the media and the evolution of the larger American society, including education, politics and civil liberties. Similar to his approach in his Pulitzer Prize winning book The Social Transformation of American Medicine, Start fits the institution of media into a comparative context. (9) The result is a multi-dimensional discussion that provokes the reader into contemplation of...