This special issue on segmenting publics was awarded the PRism Prize in 2011 for special issue editorship (click here for details of the prize).  Guest editors Dr Jennifer Vardeman-Winter, University of Houston, and Dr Natalie Tindall, Georgia State University, called for an intellectual discourse about the status of contemporary publics and organisational approaches to segmenting publics.  In response, they have received a diverse and stimulating range of disciplinary and methodological perspectives on publics segmentation that emphatically fill a gap in the theoretical map of our discipline.  We trust you enjoy their special issue of PRism, which offers insights from both new and established scholars.  Particular thanks must go to the specialist referees recruited by Natalie and Jennifer for this issue, who were extremely generous with their time and feedback in support of PRism's ongoing mission to support and develop new writers in the public relations research field. 

Segmenting publics

Edited by Jennifer Vardeman-Winter and Natalie Tindall

Jennifer Vardeman-Winter and Natalie Tindall, Special Issue Editors

Vardeman-Winter, J., & Tindall, N. T. J. (2011). The current climate on publics segmentation research: Publics at a nexus of multiple identities and digitisation. PRism 8(2). Available at: http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/8_2/Vardeman-Winter_Tindall.pdf

Lovari, A., Kim, S., Vibber, K. & Kim, J-N. (2011). Digitisation’s impacts on publics: Public knowledge and civic conversation. PRism 8(2): http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/8_2/Lovari_Kim_Vibber_Kim.pdf

Stansberry, K. (2011). Mapping mommy bloggers: Using online social network analysis to study publics. PRism 8(2): http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/8_2/Stansberry.pdf

Fall, L. T. & Lubbers, C. A. (2011). Illustration by examination: Using segmentation analysis as a publicrelations research tool to differentiate America’s travelling public. PRism 8(2): http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/8_2/Fall_Lubbers.pdf  

Khakimova, L., Briones, R. L., Madden, S., & Campbell, T. (2011). The letting girls Glow! communication campaign: Methodological and conceptual lessons for segmenting teen publics. PRism 8(2): http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/8_2/Khakimova_Briones_Madden_Campbell.pdf

Hilyard, K. M., Hocke, T. M. & Ryan, E. L. (2011). Disaster on the web? A qualitative analysis of disaster preparedness websites for children. PRism 8(2): http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/8_2/Hilyard_Hocke_Ryan.pdf

Kim, J-N. (2011). Public segmentation using situational theory of problem solving: Illustrating summation method and testing segmented public profiles. PRism 8(2): http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/8_2/Kim.pdf

• Click here for information on the contributors whose articles appear in this issue.

Would you like to contribute a book review, conference report, or academic or commentary article?  We welcome your input, including your feedback on items in this issue.  To make a contribution please see the ongoing call for papers page for guidelines for reviews and articles.

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