vox populi

Look up vox populi in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Vox populi (pronounced /ˈvɒks ˈpɒpjʊlaɪ/),^[1] a Latin phrase that literally means voice of the people, is a term often used in broadcasting for interviews with members of the "general public".

Vox pop, the man in the street

A vox pop interview

Usually the interviewees are shown in public places, and supposed to be giving spontaneous opinions in a chance encounter — unrehearsed persons, not selected in any way. As such, broadcast journalists almost always refer to them as the abbreviated vox pop. In U.S. broadcast journalism it is often referred to as a man on the street interview or M.O.T.S..

Because the results of such an interview are unpredictable at best, usually vox pop material is edited down very tightly. This presents difficulties of balance, in that the selection used ought to be, from the point of view of journalistic standards, a fair cross-section of opinions.

Although the two can be quite often confused, a vox pop is not a form of a survey. Each person is asked the same question, the aim is to get a variety of answers and opinions on any given subject. Journalists are usually instructed to approach a wide range of people to get varied answers from different points of view. The interviewees should be of various ages, genders, classes and communities so that the diverse views and reactions of the general people will be known. Generally, the vox pop question will be asked of different persons in different parts of streets or public places. But as an exception, in any specific topic or situation which is not concerned to general people, the question can be asked only in a specific group to know what the perception/reaction is of that group to the specific topic or issue, i.e., a question can be asked to a group of students about the quality of the education.

Proverbial use

Often quoted as, Vox populi, vox dei (/ˈvɒks ˈpɒpjəlaɪ ˈvɒks ˈdiː.aɪ/), "The voice of the people [is] the voice of God", is an old proverb often erroneously attributed to William of Malmesbury in the twelfth century.^[2]

Another early reference to the expressionomal is in a letter from Alcuin to Charlemagne in 798, although it is believed to have been in earlier use.^[3] The full quotation from Alcuin reads:

Nec audiendi qui solent dicere, Vox populi, vox Dei, quum tumultuositas vulgi semper insaniae proxima sit.^[4]

English translation:

And those people should not be listened to who keep saying the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness.^[5]

Cultural references

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (October 2009)

• "Vox populi, vox dei…" means, "The voice of the people is the voice of God…", thus implying that popular opinion is always right. The quotation, from Alcuin of York (735-804), Epistolae, 166, para 9, shows that Alcuin believes the opposite. The full quotation is, "Nec audienti sunt qui solet docere, 'Vox populi, vox dei'; cum tumultuositas vulgi semper insanitas proxima est." The literal translation is: "Do not listen to those who are accustomed to teach [claim], 'The voice of the people is the voice of God', because the tumult of the masses is always close to insanity."^[6] The quote refers to prior, presumably common, usage, which does assert the identity of the popular voice and the voice of [a] God; it is only Alcuin who dissents.
• "Vox Populi" is a paper by Sir Francis Galton, first published in the March 7, 1907 issue of Nature that mathematically demonstrates the "wisdom of crowds."^[7]
• "Vox Populi" is the motto of the Alabama House of Representatives.^[8]
• "Vox Populi" is the name of the blog of the Georgetown Voice, Georgetown University's weekly newsmagazine.^[9]
• "Vox Populi" is the name of 2008 Dutch Film by Eddy Terstall
• "Vox Populi" is the name of an episode from the first season of the television series Jericho.
• "Vox Pop" is a student newspaper at the University of Aberdeen.

See also

• Greg Packer, a quasi-professional vox pop interviewee.
• List of Latin phrases

Notes