Why do people watch things like the Arias murder trial? [View all]

[nadinbrzezinski]

And why the networks cover this?

I admit, I could care less, but having been in the news bidnezz for a while, I am starting to get it. This is a sociological explanation.

The murder itself was horrific, her lies to get out of it, were also horrific. People identify with the victim, and want revenge on the victim. Ok, we call it justice and it might be justice.

The case itself is very complex. Don't ask me to even try to summarize because as I said I could care less, but it comes down to a very simplistic view, which is easy to understand. Somebody was killed, we have this person who did it, and we want justice. The details do not matter.

But, but this will not change your life? Correct, like most entertainment it will not. This is a morality play, that is easy to understand. On the other hand, I gotta write this afternoon a story on our local fire boards. Now that one is complex, with multiple parts to the puzzle, and it is not black and white.

Gets worst, legislation at the state or federal level, again, no clear winners or losers, and usually they are complex, so unless you can appeal to emotions, such as the ACA, people really do not get it. Part of it, is the news media, be critical of it for a while. And one reason is that these stories are complex and take research to get them, and at times we don't get them fully.

But a murder... it becomes a morality play "Justice is being done." See, do not do this... and it becomes a simplistic thing to do.

But somebody asked here earlier, it's not just ratings. This is a really easy story to tell at this stage of the game, very easy. And it is something the reader, or the audience also gets... why people watch and care about this.

Once you understand this, it also explains why the press tends to bleed it leads. In skeleton news rooms I can tell that story... with just a few reporters... but the more complex stories... you need time, and you need effort, and you need to go look at info, from everywhere at times. Here is one for ya, many TV stations send must videographers to the field to cover the less important shit. They do not have the cub reporters any more to send them to the less important shit. This is how skeleton things are.

So this is why the Arias murder verdict is a gimme for the media. It is a really easy story to tell.