| The purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons why people follow celebrity court cases in the mass media. This cultural pastime has become extremely popular and garners high ratings for the media outlets that present them. The question is why these court cases are so popular and talked about in our postmodern society? At the heart of this investigation is our society's fascination with fame and celebrities. This study attempted to explain the reasons people watch or read about these high-profile cases by employing eight theories believed to capture the needs and motivations of the viewing audiences. These theories include justice, identification, social use, escapism, loneliness, diversion, parasocial interaction, and enjoyment. The findings of this study demonstrated the utility of these eight social and psychological theories.;This project recruited 110 participants in a nonrandom sample from a fitness gym to fill out a survey consisting of both open-ended items and scaled items. The statistical procedures included basic descriptive statistics, correlations, and factor analytic techniques. The findings supported the basic premise which was that audience members pay attention to these cases for numerous reasons, not just one isolated reason. People watch these cases in a hybrid fashion where the various theories interact simultaneously. The study also found that each theory has a varying level of importance in each particular audience member's life. The study ultimately found support for the fundamental premise of this study which was that people in our society have an unfaltering interest in the lives of celebrities, especially when they are caught up in an extraordinary legal conflict.;Keywords: celebrity, high-profile, fame, drama, court cases, legal cases, justice, parasocial interaction, identification, social use, enjoyment, loneliness, escapism, diversion, audiences, viewers, media, needs, motivations, gratifications, uses, media psychology. |
