Interviews with “vox pops” not only help us amplify the voices of people who often go unheard, but also to inform our reporting.
By Ariel Cheung
City Bureau’s Civic Reporting fellows and senior reporter Sarah Conway speak with asylum-seekers at Concord Missionary Baptist Church on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. (Photo: Eli Ramirez/City Bureau)
Vox populi (noun): A Latin term that translates to “the voice of the people.” At City Bureau, our articles usually feature quotes from a range of people who reporters cold-approach for interviews. These are known as “man on the street” stories or, at City Bureau, “vox pops.”
Nothing gives me more empathy for the clipboard-wielding, donation-seeking volunteers and advocates outside CTA stations and on downtown corridors like my memories of vox pop assignments.
Many a reporter can recall the somewhat harrowing task of approaching strangers on the street with a topical question. In fact, some of my first “man on the street” assignments (also known as the more inclusive “person on the street” or “vox pop” article) were as an intern for the Sun-Times during my first summer in Chicago. I can still quite viscerally remember wandering Wacker Drive, my voice wavering as I asked a few dozen people for comment.
Here at City Bureau, the vox pop (a shortened version of the Latin term vox populi, or “voice of the people”) is an early way for Civic Reporting fellows to dip their toes into the art of an interview. Teams visit neighborhood grocery stores, schools or transit stations with questions centered around their reporting topic. They come away with a better grasp of their community’s needs and its familiarity with the topic at hand.
This time around, our winter cohort of fellows spoke with a 30-year-old car mechanic, a mother of two, a biology professor and a couple with a baby on the way. They told fellows about their struggles to find work, the futures they envision for their families, and how they’ve fared so far in Chicago.
What unites them? All are recently arrived migrants, mostly from Venezuela.
Concord Missionary Baptist Church hosted its first Spanish-language Sunday service Feb. 11, 2024, in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago. (Photo: Eli Ramirez/City Bureau)
“My salary in Venezuela couldn’t even [cover the cost] of a carton of eggs,” said David Cegobia, 30, a construction worker who hopes to earn enough in Chicago to afford a lawyer who can help him apply for asylum. “I’m desperate.”
Some, like Freddy Manuel Palmar Palmar, said they found odd jobs like shoveling snow, fixing cars or working on construction sites. One day, Palmar Palmar said he spent almost 12 hours pouring cement and unloading boxes of concrete. He got paid $50.
“I ended up crying. It felt like abuse,” he said. “I can’t negotiate, because I’m too easy to replace. There are too many people [looking for work outside] Home Depot to say, ‘Boss, $80 is too little for this work.’”
Interviews like these not only help us amplify the voices of people who often go unheard, but also to inform our reporting. Through speaking with dozens of recently arrived immigrants, volunteers and advocates, their fellowship project is taking shape — and I, for one, can’t wait to see what they do next.
The full Vox Pop article is here in Spanish and English. Please reach out if you have thoughts on how we can best shape our coverage on recently arrived asylum-seekers in Chicago.
A version of this story was first published in a Feb. 23, 2024 edition of the Newswire, a newsletter filled with civic knowledge and opportunities for Chicagoans who want to make a difference in and for their communities.
Want to check out more civic reporting from our fellowship? Take a look at past projects here.