Vox populi

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Vox populi, which means literally in Latin voice of the people, is a term often used in broadcasting for interviews of members of the 'general public'.

[edit] Vox pop, the man in the street

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 American broadcast journalism it is often referred to as a man on the street interview.

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

[edit] Proverbial use

Often quoted as, Vox populi, vox dei, "The voice of the people is the voice of God", an old proverb is often erroneously attributed to William of Malmesbury in the twelfth century.[1]

Another early reference to the expression is in a letter from Alcuin to Charlemagne in 798, although it is believed to have been in earlier use.[2] The full quotation from Alcuin goes Nec audiendi qui solent dicere, Vox populi, vox Dei, quum tumultuositas vulgi semper insaniae proxima sit.^[1]

[edit] Notes