Publics

Not to be confused with Publix.

Publics are small groups of people who follow one or more particular issue very closely. They are well informed about the issue(s) and also have a very strong opinion on it/them. They tend to know more about politics than the average person, and, therefore, exert more influence, because these people care so deeply about their cause(s) that they donate a lot of time and money. Therefore, politicians are unlikely be reelected by not pleasing the publics while in office.^[1]

Issue publics

Issue publics are groups of people who pay attention to one particular issue. One can be part of more than one issue public.^[1] So called "passionate publics" can also shape markets and the perceptions of different products, as seen in the discursive shaping of market categories by reviewers of whiskey products.^[2]

The term was introduced by Philip Converse in The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics (1964). He defined it in contrast to mass public.^[3]

Attentive publics

Attentive publics are groups of people who pay attention to several particular issues.^[1]

See also

• Audiences / audience studies
• Environmental politics

References

1. Peverill Squire; James M. Lindsay; Cary R. Covington (2008) [1st pub. 1995: Brown & Benchmark], Dynamics of Democracy (5th Alternative ed.), Mason, Ohio: Thomson Custom Solutions, ISBN 9780759395343, OCLC 1285579891^{[page needed][verification needed]}
2. Hartman, Anna E.; Fisser, Carys; Venkatraman, Rohan; Coslor, Erica (2025-06-01). "The category work of custodians: Passionate publics and online reviews". Public Relations Review. 51 (2): 102546. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2025.102546. ISSN 0363-8111.
3. Han, Hahrie (2009). "What are Issue Publics?". Moved to Action: Motivation, Participation, and Inequality in American Politics (illustrated ed.). Stanford University Press. p. 50. ISBN 0804762244. OCLC 316327162.