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From 'the' Public Sphere to a Network of Publics: Rethinking Contemporary Public Communication Spaces
Presented at the 2026 QUT Digital Media Research Centre Summer School, Brisbane, 4 Feb. 2026.
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From 'the' Public Sphere to a Network of Publics: Rethinking Contemporary Public Communication Spaces
- 1. CRICOS No.00213J From ‘the’Public Sphere to a Network of Publics: Rethinking Contemporary Public Communication Spaces Axel Bruns Australian Laureate Fellow Digital Media Research Centre Queensland University of Technology Brisbane, Australia a.bruns@qut.edu.au Bluesky: @snurb.info | Mastodon: @snurb@aoir.social | Xitter: @snurb_dot_info
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- 4. CRICOS No.00213J The PublicSphere?
- 5. CRICOS No.00213J • “Mediatedpolitical communication” • “Carried on by an elite” • “On a virtual stage of mediated communication” (Habermas, 2006) Public Sphere Photo by Mike Philipp on Unsplash
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- 7. CRICOS No.00213J https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/1412688.1412691 (Image: Julien Beauséjour) ‘The’ PublicSphere, Today? Mainstream media Niche media (Semi-) publics, communities, … Everyday communication ‘Wild Flows’
- 8. CRICOS No.00213J ‘the’: nolonger a unified space The Public Sphere? ‘the’: no longer a unified space ‘public’: mix between public, semi-public, and private ‘sphere’: a network of spaces, not a simple sphere ‘the’: no longer a unified space ‘public’: mix between public, semi-public, and private ‘the’: no longer a unified space ‘public’: mix between public, semi-public, and private ‘sphere’: a network of spaces, not a simple sphere
- 9. CRICOS No.00213J ‘The’ PublicSphere? • No, but subsets and building blocks: • ‘The’ public sphere • Public spheres – e.g. political, cultural, Indigenous, … / blogosphere, Twittersphere, … • Public spherules / sphericules – e.g. on various larger themes • Issue publics – e.g. on specific issues, events, topics • Personal publics – around individuals, e.g. around social media profiles • … but maybe not quite so hierarchical https://www.rawpixel.com/image/6536163/vector-sticker-public-domain-blue
- 10. CRICOS No.00213J Fragmentation Platformisation Hyperconnectivity Interoperability Corporate Enclosure Enshittification ANetwork of Publics Image: Midjourney
- 11. CRICOS No.00213J ‘Good’ and‘Bad’ Publics • Forms of publics: • Publics (Warner, 2002) • Hegemonic publics • Subaltern counterpublics (Fraser, 1990) • Issue publics (Habermas, 2006) • Ad hoc publics (Bruns & Burgess, 2011) • Parasitic publics (Larson & McHendry Jr., 2019) • Phantasmagoric publics (Badola, forthcoming) • Affective publics (Papacharissi, 2014) • … Image: Midjourney
- 12. CRICOS No.00213J Communities? Audiences? Publics? Crowds? Groups? When Isa ‘Public’ Not a Public?
- 13. CRICOS No.00213J • Smallnumber, known to each other • Shared interests, values, and aims • Stable relationships and distinct roles Groups Photo by Saksham Gangwar on UnSplash
- 14. CRICOS No.00213J • Smallnumber, known to each other • Shared interests, values, and aims • Stable relationships and distinct roles Groups How and Where to Find Them • Strong, repeated, stable interconnections / interactions • Shared language, identity markers, media objects • Similar activity patterns and practices
- 15. CRICOS No.00213J • Larger,key members known to each other • Shared but contestable interests, values, and aims • More complex structure involving centre and periphery, leaders and followers Communities Photo by Jacinto Diego on Unsplash
- 16. CRICOS No.00213J • Larger,key members known to each other • Shared but contestable interests, values, and aims • More complex structure involving centre and periphery, leaders and followers Communities How and Where to Find Them • Repeated, stable interconnections / interactions / practices • Emergence of influential lead participants • Centre / periphery distinctions (e.g. 1/9/90, Pareto: creators, contributors, lurkers) • More interactions within community than outside it (e.g. E-I Index) • Broadly shared language, identity markers, media objects
- 17. CRICOS No.00213J • Muchlarger and much less knowable • Transient and temporarily gathered in one space (online or offline) • Some shared identity or interests but no universally shared values Crowd Photo by Joseph Chan on Unsplash
- 18. CRICOS No.00213J • Muchlarger and much less knowable • Transient and temporarily gathered in one space (online or offline) • Some shared identity or interests but no universally shared values Crowd How and Where to Find Them • Large to very large number of participants • Strong activity for limited period of time, or around defined issues • Similar activity patterns, but limited interaction between participants • Shared language, identity markers, media objects relating to specific driving issue
- 19. CRICOS No.00213J • Centredaround shared interest, issue, text • Capable of forming and dissolving rapidly (e.g. ad hoc publics, issue publics, …) • Aware of each other and able to communicate publicly • May develop shared values through their communication • Capable of organising in support of a common goal Public Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash
- 20. CRICOS No.00213J • Centredaround shared interest, issue, text • Capable of forming and dissolving rapidly (e.g. ad hoc publics, issue publics, …) • Aware of each other and able to communicate publicly • May develop shared values through their communication • Capable of organising in support of a common goal Public How and Where to Find Them • Large to very large number of participants • Strong activity for limited period of time, or around defined issues • Similar activity patterns, and greater levels of interaction between participants • Shared language, identity markers, media objects relating to specific driving issue • Centring around key values can produce longer-term structures and leadership
- 21. CRICOS No.00213J • Centredaround a shared (media) text • Large but dispersed and usually unknown to each other • Unlikely to share values beyond central common interest • Incapable of acting together Audience Photo by Ben Tofan on Unsplash
- 22. CRICOS No.00213J • Centredaround a shared (media) text • Large but dispersed and usually unknown to each other • Unlikely to share values beyond central common interest • Incapable of acting together Audience How and Where to Find Them • Unified by central text (live performance, media object, event / issue hashtag, …) • Participant numbers from niche to very large • Observing rather than actively contributing • Therefore invisible to and unaware of each other • Often imagined and assumed rather than tangibly traceable
- 23. CRICOS No.00213J a beautifulphotorealistic painting of the public sphere (via Midjourney) an extremely complex 3d topographic model of the networked public sphere (via Midjourney) Why Do We Care? • Words matters: • Making complex intangible concepts intelligible • Providing a common language for analysis • Enabling better diagnosis of issues and problems • Informing practical action, business strategies, and policy-making • If there is no one public sphere any more, how do we ensure every citizen is well-informed about what is happening in the world, and able to exercise their democratic rights and obligations?
- 24. CRICOS No.00213J Mapping Publics •Network analysis of ‘the’ public sphere: • Internal structures, external relations • Flows of information and attention • Clusters and disconnections • Discursive alliances and antagonisms • Practice mapping as a framework: • From direct interactions … • … to similarities in practices • (more on this tomorrow!)
- 25. CRICOS No.00213J Thank you Image:Midjourney
- 26. CRICOS No.00213J This researchis supported by the Australian Research Council through the Australian Laureate Fellowship project Determining the Dynamics of Partisanship and Polarisation in Online Public Debate. Acknowledgments