News Release Archives

Washington, Sept. 19, 2000 - This fall's public television series, Vox Populi, gives an articulate and lucid voice to the public's concerns driving the Year 2000 elections. Distributed by NETA and hosted by veteran newsman Marvin Kalb, the four-part series investigates three topics identified by the public as crucial to their election decisions: health care; America's role in the world; and the federal budget. Additionally, the series will include an encore presentation of the original pilot, Vox Populi: Democracy in Crisis, which explores the public's feelings about its role in government decisions. The programs, co-produced by the Center on Policy Attitudes (COPA) and Emmy-winning Quorum Communications, go beyond cursory poll numbers by using footage from focus groups and public opinion expert commentary to clarify the underlying values driving public attitudes on public policy. Focus groups were conducted nationwide, including in Baltimore, Nashville, Cleveland, Richmond, Albuquerque and Roanoke. The programs each include an informational segment spelling out the topic's main issues or problems and a concluding roundtable of national journalists and experts discussing implications of the programs' findings. Each program is supplemented by in-depth analysis of public opinion on the program topic, available on the Vox Populi web site, www.vox-populi.org

Washington, June 1, 2000 - A new television special Vox Populi: Democracy in Crisis will be aired on PBS stations this summer. Hosted by former CBS and NBC and correspondent Marvin Kalb, the program asks why public confidence in the government has dropped so dramatically during recent decades and finds that a key reason is most Americans feel the government is not responsive to the will of the majority. COPA Director Steven Kull shows average Americans speaking out in focus groups, as well as vivid visual displays of national polls. Interviews with noted authorities Benjamin Page, Andrew Kohut and Robert Shapiro address key questions about the relationship between the public and the government. Finally, Marvin Kalb leads a discussion of the implications of these findings with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and noted journalists E.J. Dionne and Jodie Allen.