Why I love doing vox pops – and why they matter

Kate Meade gathering vox pops for the ABC. Image supplied.

I recently wrote an article about vox pops, lamenting how radio and TV journos used to dread doing them. Fair to say it stirred up a bit of a reaction.

Vox pops – Latin for ‘voice of the people’ – are short interviews with people on the street, offering quick and authentic public opinion on a particular news topic, in turn adding weight – and a point of difference – to radio news and talkback programs.

I said I’d rather poke myself in the eye with a blunt stick than stick a mic in the face of a random person waiting in the lunch queue at Maccas.

Kate Meade – Station Reporter for 774 ABC Melbourne – feels differently.

Here, she offers her thoughts to Radio Today on why vox pops matter – and, if you’re tasked with the job of getting them, how best to go about it.

She also shares some hilarious photographic evidence of the occupational hazards which go hand-in-hand with collecting ‘voxxies.’

Kate says:

Dear any reporter on the road, on the street or anywhere chasing the story: if you roll your eyes at  the prospect of getting vox pops, then it’s time for you to start looking for a new job.

And for anyone who thinks ‘oh, they’re just voxxies’ …

Sit down. We need to talk.

I have been a radio breakfast host, senior producer, and executive producer, and am now currently an on-the-road reporter for ABC Radio Melbourne 774 and ABC News Breakfast.

Voxxies can be the key and life to your story. The magic sauce.

Sure, you can call in with your story and tell the audience what is going on. Or you can set it up and let the people tell the story.

Their words, their suburb, their experience.

And that is all the difference in the world for an audience experience.

I mean, who are we doing this job for?

If I’m wearing my EP hat. I want those voxies, and as many of them as I can. I want something on my program that no one else (in Melbourne) has.

I want it local, I want it immediate and I want it to surprise and delight me.

If I am wearing my reporter hat – which is full-time now – I want this in and done within 20 minutes. 6 people minimum or the first on the scene.

I want males and females and I want diversity. But mostly, I’m listening to that ‘something’: a turn of phrase or the way they describe what they have just seen or the opinion on the topic of the day.

Sure, I can get on the radio live from location and give you the facts and what I can see. But there is nothing – and I mean nothing – better than hearing it from the audience on the ground in the moment.

As ABC Mornings host Raf Epstein said to me one morning: it’s not hard, but not everyone can do it.

And I’ve thought about that a lot.

You see, there is an art to it.

It’s not about pouncing on someone. It’s gentle, but direct. It’s in a smile and hello and it’s about being honest with what you want to achieve.

“If you can, can you tell me what you have experienced today?”

Racing out and getting voxxies is an honour. Most days you are meeting people on their worst days. They are in shock. They need care.

Getting voxxies is not beneath it you.

Getting voxxies trains your ear.

What do the audience want to know?

What is it that makes this area/suburb so special?

Are they feeling safe?

How big was it?

How loud was it?

Do you have any video? Because let’s face it, we work in a multi-platform industry.

So, if you are new to the job (or even if you’ve been doing it for 15 years) and someone sends you out for voxxies – no eye rolls … and care about it.

Know that the voices together are going to be what makes your spot (maybe the 3 minutes you have on air) sing. Really sing. And by that I mean – it is your job to provide content that you know one else in your market has.

Yes, you can have callers, but there is nothing like a witness or an opinion from the scene from where it is all happening.

First, be clear and listen for that thing … that- I can’t get out of my car because I need to listen to the thing/moment.

So, yes! Someone has to do it. But your attitude to the role of it is everything.

And you know what? On any given day, you just never know who you are going to meet.

And that’s my TED talk for today!

OK, wait. Let me give you something helpful if you still dread heading out for voxxies:

Steel up. You have a job to do. The longer it takes the worse it’s going to get.

Tell yourself that people want to talk to you (like a mantra). And know that they do; people are actually dying to tell their story.

Eye contact is super important. Once you lock eyes, it’s go time.

Introduce yourself. Be professional but also meet them as you find them. It’s ok to say ‘I’m sorry this has happened to you this morning, my name is …. and I’m from …… Are you ok?’

Talk to people human to human.

Make sure you get their first and last name and phone number and save it. Sometimes I even follow up with a thank-you text after the voxxie/interview has gone to air.

If they say no, move on. Welcome to the media. Get used to a lot of no’s. And if they say no but they are still hanging around, it’s OK to approach again. ‘I know you said no before but here is what I’m trying to do and I really need your help. I think you know more than I do right now’.

Keep safety top of mind. While I’ve said try again, if it doesn’t feel safe, walk away. Call your manager/producer and let them know the environment is unsafe and it’s not going to be possible.

Finally, have fun. Being out, meeting people and capturing the story is the greatest gig in the world!

Images supplied.