Vox populi (/ˌvɒksˈpɒpjuːli,-laɪ/VOKSPOP-yoo-lee, -lye)[1] is a Latin phrase that literally means 'voice of the people'. It is used in English in the meaning 'the opinion of the majority of the people'.[1][2] In journalism, vox pop or man on the street refers to short interviews with members of the public.[3]
Vox is a far-right political party in Spain. Founded in 2013, the party is led by party president Santiago Abascal and secretary general Javier Ortega Smith. The party entered the Spanish parliament for the first time in the April 2019 general election, having become the country's third political force after the November 2019 Spanish general election that same year, in which it secured 3.6 million votes and 52. Vox is a general interest news site for the 21st century. Its mission is simple: Explain the news. Politics, public policy, world affairs, pop culture, science, business, food, sports,.
Man on the street[edit]
American television personality Steve Allen as the host of The Tonight Show further developed the 'man on the street' interviews and audience-participation comedy breaks that have become commonplace on late-night TV. 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, journalists almost always refer to them as the abbreviated vox pop.[4] In U.S. broadcast journalism it is often referred to as a man on the street interview or MOTS.[5]
The results of such an interview are unpredictable at best, and therefore vox pop material is usually 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, sexes, 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; e.g., a question can be asked to a group of students about the quality of their education.
With increasing public familiarity with the term, several radio and television programs have been named 'vox pop' in allusion to this practice.
Vox populi, vox Dei[edit]
The Latin phrase Vox populi, vox Dei (/ˌvɒksˈpɒpjuːliˌvɒksˈdeɪi/), 'The voice of the people [is] the voice of God', is an old proverb.
An early reference to the expression is in a letter from Alcuin to Charlemagne in 798.[6] The full quotation from Alcuin reads:[7][8]
Nec audiendi qui solent dicere, Vox populi, vox Dei, quum tumultuositas vulgi semper insaniae proxima sit. | 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. |
This passage indicates that already by the end of the eighth century the phrase had become an aphorism of political common wisdom. Writing in the early 12th century, William of Malmesbury refers to the saying as a 'proverb'.[9]
Of those who promoted the phrase and the idea, Archbishop of CanterburyWalter Reynolds brought charges against King Edward II in 1327 in a sermon 'Vox populi, vox Dei'.[10][11]
Cultural references[edit]
| Wikiquote has quotations related to: Vox populi |
Vox Pop Games
- 'Vox Populi' is a paper by Sir Francis Galton, first published in the 7 March 1907 issue of Nature, that demonstrates the 'wisdom of the crowd' by a statistical analysis of the guesses from a weight-judging contest.[12]
- A variant was used in the 1920 United States presidential election, in which the main candidates were Warren G. Harding and James M. Cox: 'Cox or Harding, Harding or Cox? / You tell us, populi, you got the vox.'[13]
- In Dimension 20's Actual Play Dungeons & Dragons show, 'The Unsleeping City', Kingston Brown holds the title of 'Vox Populi of New York City', the individual selected to be the voice of the people of New York, regarding matters involving magical forces from the Dream Realm.
- The 'Vox Populi' are a faction in the 2013 video game Bioshock Infinite as a revolutionary force led by Daisy Fitzroy against the incumbent Zachary Comstock.
- The dictionary definition of vox populi at Wiktionary
- Vox Populi is referenced in the film V for Vendetta
See also[edit]
Vox Populi
References[edit]
- ^ ab'Vox Populi'. Oxford Dictionaries (online). Oxford University Press.
- ^Merriam Webster; Random House
- ^Sally Adams (2001). Interviewing for Journalists. Psychology Press. p. 10. ISBN978-0-415-22914-2.
- ^David Stephenson (1998). How to Succeed in Newspaper Journalism. Kogan Page. p. 34. ISBN0-7494-2514-8.
- ^Prato, Lou (April 1999). 'Easy to Do, But Often Worthless'. American Journalism Review. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
- ^Mackie, P; Sim, F (2007). 'A Question of Rhetoric'. Journal of the Royal Institute of Public Health. 121: 641–642 – via Public Health Journal.
- ^The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, third edition, Oxford University Press, 1993.
- ^'Alcuinus on Vox pops, Vox populi, Vox pop'. OxfordReference.com. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2007.
- ^Martin Rule (1883). The Life and Times of St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of the Britains. II. Kegan Paul Trench & Co. p. 67.
- ^David Lagomarsino, Charles T. Wood (2000). The Trial of Charles I: A Documentary History. 'As far back as 1327, in pronouncing the deposition of Edward II, the Archbishop of Canterbury Walter Reynolds had taken as his justifying text the old Carolingian adage Vox populi, vox Dei, 'The voice of the people is the voice of God.'
- ^Philip Hamburger Law and Judicial Duty 2009 Page 74 'At the meeting of this high court early in 1327, Archbishop of Canterbury Walter Reynolds brought charges against the king, ... homage to the prince, and Archbishop Reynolds — the son of a baker — preached on the text Vox populi, vox Dei.
- ^Francis Galton. 'Vox Populi'. 7 March 1907.
- ^Safire, William (2008). Safire's Political Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 783. ISBN978-0195343342. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
Books, Coffee and Democracy – The VOXPOP Café
Located in historic Ditmas Park in Brooklyn, New York, the VOXPOP (Voice of the People) café stood as an icon of community spirit. Started in 2004, by Truth Party leader Sander Hicks, the VOX POP touted the slogan, “Books, Coffee and Democracy.” Hicks believes all opinions matter and wanted to get people fired-up to think, discuss and explore.
A review of the VOXPOP café would be incomplete without a look at its founder. Sander Hicks, part entrepreneur, part political activist, opened the café in 2004 with the help of his fiancé. Hicks names 9/11 and the “so called” war on terror as the catalyst for opening the VOXPOP cafe. He believes the government is hiding the truth about 9/11 and other events, citing the failed Iran-Contra cover-up as an example. He encourages people to look beyond mass media and government reporting to unearth political corruption and cover-up and created the VOXPOP as a venue to do just that. The café/bookstore specialized in books on political science, national security, alternative media, and alternative reporting. Sander himself has written several books on government corruption. Certainly the government has its share of cover-ups and corruption, but upon hearing some of Sander’s views, the term “conspiracy theorist” comes to mind.
As combination café, bookstore, community hangout, and performance hall, the VOX POP drew in a diverse crowd. Writers, musicians, compulsive knitters, stay-at-home moms, hippies, veterans, political activists, and writers gathered at VOXPOP for coffee, beer, music, poetry and camaraderie.
What may have started out as a vehicle for Hicks’s political ideas, morphed into a beloved community center. To appreciate VOXPOP’s contribution to the community takes only a quick look at some of the events sponsored by the café.
• Hump Day Party celebrated the middle of the week and featured a live DJ and plenty of disco.
• Traffic Calming Party hoped to bring awareness of the traffic problems near the café to city officials.
• Knit in Public Day encouraged knitters to bring their leftover yarn and help create a knitted public art piece.
• Miss Katie’s Sing Along and a regular story-time reached out the younger crowd.
• Rolie Polie Guacamole invited kids join an entertaining cooking activity.
• It was a Hot and Stormy Night was a benefit concert with playbills featuring a Star Wars Storm Trooper in a background of red rose petals.
• Open Mic Night invited local musicians and poets to perform.
The VOXPOP offered something for everyone. When the café hit hard financial times and closure was looming, the community came together to keep the VOXPOP open.
The Tax Man Cometh – The Closing of the VOXPOP
Unfortunately for the community, Hicks turned out to be more visionary than businessman. On the surface, the VOXPOP appeared to be a profitable, growing business. In his 2008 business plan, Hicks boasted a profitable year, a 35 percent increase in sales, the opening of a second location, and projected 2014 sales of $11,248,800. He was set to take on the chain stores with his rebel bookseller model and envisioned a national franchise of political cafes.
The State of New York had a different vision, one with a substantial increase in tax revenue. In 2008, with the recession in full swing, the cash strapped state of New York significantly upped its tax audits of businesses from the previous year. The Department of Taxation Strategic Plan for 2007-2008 called for a voluntary closing of the tax gap, but civil and criminal charges would be used if voluntary measures failed. During this time the VOXPOP was struggling financially, barely able to keep its doors open. Hicks resigned, and the café was reorganized as a “for profit collective” with a new CEO and board of directors and more than 100 shareholders. When new CEO, Debi Ryan, attempted to clean up the financial mess, she discovered the VOXPOP was in serious trouble. The café owed 58,000 dollars in back taxes.
Shortly after Ryan took the helm, the cafe was closed by the New York Department of Taxation until the back taxes were paid. Unfortunately, this wasn’t VOXPOP’s first run-in with state officials. The New York State Health Department had closed VOXPOP down twice for non-payment of fines totaling 30,000 dollars. The VOXPOP café garnered much attention from the State of New York. Whether this had anything to do with former owner Hicks’ political agenda or was simply a result of the state’s efforts to collect fines and taxes rightly due is unknown, but merits mention.
Vox Popoli
Several successful benefits and fundraisers were held to raise money to save the VOXPOP. Ryan paid 10,000 dollars toward the back taxes and a payment agreement was underway. Shortly after re-opening, the VOXPOP was again seized by the state tax department. Surprised by this action, Ryan attempted, but was unable to contact the supervisor with whom she reached an agreement due to personnel changes in the state tax department. The VOXPOP either had to come up with the back taxes or shut its doors for good.
Vox Pop Radio Show
Seeing no way to make the VOXPOP into a profitable business with the mass of fines and tax burden, the shareholders voted to close the café. Today, the VOXPOP location stands empty and boarded up.
While it failed the American dream as a successful business, the VOXPOP achieved something greater, winning the heart and support of a community.