Vox-pop piece - Footballers cheating

For my journalism assignment at university I wrote a vox-pop piece about footballers cheating on their partners. However, understanding news features have to focus on current affairs, I centered the story around Wayne Rooney, who had recently cheated on his pregnant wife Colleen. I questionned strangers of varying ages to get more of a representative sample and conducting vox-pops has given me more experience of the journalism field.

Footballers are constantly in the press for cheating on their loyal, attractive and dedicated partners, and it’s almost impossible to understand the reasons behind their behaviour. The recent scandal of Wayne Rooney cheating on his pregnant wife Colleen with a hooker has sparked even more interest in the subject, so the Birmingham Mail went out to question the public on their opinions… 

  Niall Magennis, 18, a part time chef from Belfast, said: “Footballers have so much power and money that they think they have nothing to lose. They have fame and fortune so they can get away with having an extra bit on the side. It’s what they want.”
  Mark Broadhurst, 32, a gardener, agreed: “The money and the power they have goes to their head and they believe they can do anything they want and get away with it. Being in the spotlight makes it more daring; it’s like a game of cat and mouse. They should know better.”
  However, Jez Collins, 38, from Birmingham, accentuated how it isn’t just famous footballers who are unfaithful: “What people don’t realise is that huge amounts of men cheat, it’s only because footballers are famous that it’s more obvious for them because of the press. They have more access to young women because of their fame, but the paparazzi means they get caught out more.”
  Stella Davies, 45, a checkout worker, believes that star struck females are to blame: “They get a lot of attention from girls; they have lots of fans and people want to be with them, so they get many opportunities. It’s easy for them to cheat.”
  June Pudge, 70, a retired florist from Sheldon, said: “Footballers can afford to go to exclusive places where the media and public won’t be able to find them so they can wine and dine their secret lovers discretely.”
  Amina Saleh, 22, a volunteer worker, said: “I suppose they cheat because they’re really busy and get bored easily. Their partners don’t get the same sort of attention. Footballers have more money than sense.”