Television crime drama program viewing and O J Simpson bias: Applying the cultivation theory
Abstract
According to media critics, no criminal event has ever received as much publicity as the O. J. Simpson double murder case. The purpose of conducting this research was to apply the cultivation analysis theory to the O. J. Simpson case to see if heavy daily television viewers, heavy viewers of crime drama programs both realistic and fictional, and heavy newspaper and magazine readers expressed guilt against O. J. Simpson With the assistance from personnel at the Clark County Courthouse in Las Vegas, Nevada, the researcher administered 205 survey questionnaires to summoned jurors who were released from jury service. A negative correlation was found between heavy daily television viewing and belief in the likelihood that O. J. Simpson was guilty. A negative correlation was found between heavy viewing of realistic crime drama programs and belief in the likelihood that O. J. Simpson was violent with his former spouse Nicole. A positive correlation was found between heavy newspaper and magazine reading and belief in the likelihood that O. J. Simpson was guilty. The results for both television viewing variables were inconsistent with the cultivation theory since light television viewers tended to believe that O. J. Simpson was guilty. Conversely, results for the newspaper and magazine readers were consistent with the cultivation theory since heavy readers tended to believe that O. J. Simpson was guilty.