Zones of Meaning

Zones of meaning are the fibers in the fabric of public opinion—the collective opinions of many markets and publics that make up a society. One of the problems perplexing activists, public relations practitioners, and scholars is understanding the nature of public opinion. Early in the 20th century the term public opinion was formalized as a research concept. It was coined to describe broadly what is on the mind of members of a society. What do they know, believe, prefer, dislike, like, aspire toward, value, and use as motives?

Further thinking and empirical investigations of public opinion revealed that a single “public” does not exist, and what we think of as “the public” certainly is not of one mind. For instance, poll data reveal that some people like any president of the United States, and others don't. Some people like baseball, and others don't. Some people support activist constraints on business practices, and some don't.

A zone of meaning is the shared knowledge, experience, preferences, motives, opinions held in the mind of some people in society, which may be quite unique to them. One of the ways to think about zones is as the result of experience. People who have lived their life in a dense, hot, and humid jungle share a zone of meaning quite different from people whose experience consists only of the vast regions near the Arctic Circle. Generations differ from one another because they have different zones of meaning, because their experiences are different. The same can be true for gender, race, and religion, to use a very short list. Labor shares a different zone of meaning from management.

Nevertheless, labor and management may share some zones. For instance, labor and management in the aircraft construction industry have a different zone of meaning than would exist for labor and management in the segment of the electricity-generating industry that uses nuclear fuel to generate power.

People in any society may like or dislike sports, in general or of various kinds. People who like basketball will share a zone of meaning quite different from that of those do who enjoy baseball. Players' names and team histories are part of each unique zone. The rules of the game differ from other games. The dynamics of league play and championship differ. Also, some sports are a part of certain people's lifestyle, and not part of other people's.

Surveys of communities reveal that some people within the community know or believe something quite different from the knowledge or beliefs of people who don't live in that community. People who live in a community with a heavy concentration of chemical manufacturing and refining facilities may understand the sirens that alert them to a safety danger. They may know when and how [Page 906]to shelter-in-place in the event such an emergency occurs. People who don't live in that community have less reason and opportunity to share this zone of meaning.

Likewise, in such communities, people who work in the industry are taught shelter-in-place procedures that are to be followed in a work site in the event an emergency occurs. Visitors to this site are required to learn those measures (come to share a zone of meaning) before they can enter. Plant managers have routine drills and training to ensure that workers and visitors know what the warning siren is and what actions must be taken in the event the siren sounds.

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