Clay Calvert Comments on the Casey Anthony Trial and Mediated Voyeurism

Clay Calvert, director of the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project and Brechner Eminent Scholar in Mass Communication at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, is quoted in “Why Was Casey Anthony Trial Such a Phenomenon? Experts Cite Power of Cable News, Rise of Social Media” published in the Orlando Sentinel on July 3.

The article focuses on why the Casey Anthony case captured the public’s imagination, including society’s voyeuristic tendencies, the power of cable news figures, the rise in influence of social media, the presence of cameras in the courtroom and even the Anthony family’s race and background.

One of Calvert’s areas of expertise is mediated voyeurism. He is the author of Voyeur Nation: Media, Privacy and Peering in Modern Culture.

According to Calvert, “The Casey Anthony case fits into a larger context of fascination with true crime stories in the U.S., a kind of ‘mediated voyeurism’ that allows people to dip into the lives of strangers.”

“We can look at other people’s lives and kind of think, ‘Well, ours are so much better than these people. We don’t have to interact with them,” he said. “We’re safely at home, and then it becomes almost like sport — ‘Did they do it? Did they not? Who’s gonna win? Who’s gonna lose?’”

Posted: July 6, 2021
Category: College News, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project News
Tagged as: Clay Calvert, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project