Inactive publics: the forgotten publics in public relations∗

Abstract

By focusing on activism and its consequences, recent public relations theory has largely ignored inactive publics, that is, stakeholder groups that demonstrate low levels of knowledge and involvement in the organization or its products, services, candidates, or causes, but are important to an organization. This article examines the nature of inactive publics and proposes a model that locates inactive publics among five categories of publics along the dimensions of knowledge and involvement. The model provides a theoretically rich alternative for how public relations practitioners might conceptualize publics, a central concept in public relations theory and practice.Kirk Hallahan is an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism and Technical Communication at Colorado State University.