vox pop
vox pop, in broadcast journalism, a term referring to both a type of interview and a structuring element. In Latin, vox populi means “voice of the people.” Over time the phrase has been shortened in journalism to vox pop. This approach is what was once referred to as the “man (or woman) on the street.” Vox pop journalism serves multiple functions within news stories and newscasts.
Content Element
As an element of content, vox pops are generally used as a way to get short reactions from people on the street about various topics. These may include serious issues—a recent action by the government, for example. Often, though, the vox pops are used to present more lighthearted stories, since the sound bites are usually opinions. Regardless of the topic, the opinions are edited into a story, either a packaged piece or an anchor-read voice-over B-roll around the constructed story. Using vox pops in this manner is sometimes referred to as “low-hanging fruit” because they are relatively easy to shoot and edit quickly.
Structuring Element
Vox pops can be used in a number of ways to help structure a story or a newscast. Since vox pops normally run short, they can be placed within the local segment of the newscast to help give structure to that story block. Producers often look for stories that will change the pace within the newscast, and short vox pops can provide variety to the story lengths to help give a better flow to the newscast. If the piece is to be lighthearted, a good vox pop story can provide a nice finish to the segment or even the newscast.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
A more serious story can also be helped by a vox pop element. The structure of the vox pop itself remains the same, with opinions sought out and edited down to a solid sound bite. The sound bite may include reactions to a breaking story since vox pops can be produced quickly and may help clarify the story for viewers.
Setup
Shooting for a vox pop is relatively easy. It may be recorded using a tripod-mounted camera, handheld camera, or even a smartphone, depending on newsroom resources and deadlines. In an age of multimedia journalists, reporters are responsible for the entire production of their stories, including shooting, editing, and transcribing the stories and often also producing any graphics needed. The reporter chooses a busy area where the prospect of getting enough material is assured. As people walk by, the reporter asks for opinions on whatever the story is about. The reporter should make sure to get good, clean audio and to frame each person in a slightly different pose. This is an important consideration, since the bites will be stacked against each other to form one longer bite. If each person faced the camera squarely, the edited cuts would look like jump cuts and would appear to be very two-dimensional.
Reporters need to visualize how the story will look on playback. This means that reporters should also record their own stand-ups. The stand-up may introduce the story, or the intro could be read by an anchor in the studio. Reporters often need to have a couple of different versions of the story, so enough B-roll should be shot to allow for this eventuality. Stand-ups, sound bites, and B-roll are the three elements needed for a good story.
Editing
Standards of good editing are crucial in vox pop stories. In most cases, there will not be enough time in each of the clips for identifiers in the lower third of the screen. This means that imperfections in the editing process, such as jump cuts, flash frames, or bad audio, will be more noticeable to the average viewer.
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
If enough B-roll was shot in the field, the story can be compressed or expanded, depending on what the producer needs for that newscast. For example, a reporter may bring back five clips for editing into a vox pop, along with a stand-up. The reporter then edits each of the clips to about five seconds and edits the opening stand-up, putting that clip into an editing sequence. All five of the edited clips are then put into the sequence, one after the other. The tag at the end of the story could be read by the anchor over B-roll. The total run time for this type of story is generally no longer than one minute. The reporter may also be asked to split the vox pop responses into slightly longer sound bites that can be used as voice-over or voice-over sound stories in a second newscast.
It is important to understand how each format of news story functions as journalists try to clarify the issues on the local, regional, and national scenes. Whether a reporter uses voice-over, voice-over sound on tape, package, reader, or stories such as vox pops, each has an important part to play in a good newscast. Producers often look for journalists who can make a newscast flow, who understand the relationship between story type and viewer comprehension, and who can consider all these different story types as tools in their toolboxes.
Pros and Cons
An advantage of vox pop stories is the flexibility they give journalists in gathering local opinions about the issues of the day. Since vox pop stories are easily constructed and quickly put into any show, they are favorites of producers who seek a lighter story within the newscast to relieve some of the heaviness seen in many shows.
The negative side of this type of story is its subjective nature. Since vox pop stories are structured as opinion pieces, they are sometimes criticized for being too one-sided, especially if they concern a local issue or notable person. Reporters and producers need to be careful in those cases. Moreover, vox pops become ubiquitous during election years, and audiences can get tired of hearing the results since public opinion changes rapidly.
Stories structured as the “voice of the people” can serve many uses in the production of a newscast, not the least of which is providing short stories with wide appeal among viewers. Particularly popular are vox pop stories in reaction to unclean restaurants, faulty construction, and other targets of activist journalism. In these cases, the stories are sometimes labeled as a franchise that carries the signature of the reporter or anchor who does the work of the story and often leaves the follow-up public responses at the end of the piece. This type of journalism is well liked by the viewing public, many of whom believe that it addresses a needed solution to local problems. When people feel that there is no one to help them, the vox populi stories in a newscast indeed give strength to the “voice of the people.”
Vox pop stories can have great utility either as content type or as structural elements within a newscast. As audiences change over time, stories in this format can change with them. Most news consumers, like many persons on the street, want to give voice to the issues of the day, particularly if those issues have parts to play in the consumers’ lived realities.
The original version of this article was published by SAGE Publications in The SAGE Encyclopedia of Journalism.