“THE Oscar Effect” – a distracting, in some cases debilitating, malady that has gripped the nation since March.
From the moment Paralympian Oscar Pistorius first entered the dock of the high court in Pretoria, where he stands accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, productivity declined, television ratings jumped and social media buzzed.
To date, the hive of activity surrounding what has been dubbed “the trial of the century” has only been surpassed by news of the death of former president Nelson Mandela.
With the trial being televised, the office or canteen television has become a gathering place for trial watchers – not only during lunch and tea breaks, but with some maintaining the semblance of work by lugging their laptops or tablets along during work hours.
Others listen to their radios, while some take advantage of the live streaming, blogging or Twitter feeds from the court room.
BrandsEye, an online monitoring and insights tool, reports that the trial has had more than two-and-a-half million mentions globally.
Conversations on Twitter spiked on the first day of the trial and later when Pistorius took the stand last month.
“The Oscar trial has seen a majority of real-time mentions online, mostly on Twitter and Facebook,” said BrandsEye chief executive, JP Kloppers.
This means people have been watching and tweeting live during work hours, with the trial taking place between 9.30am to 3pm on most weekdays.
According to media monitoring company Data Driven Insight, Pistorius’s testimony overshadowed other news – such as honeymoon murder accused Shrien Dewani’s arrival in South Africa, Marikana-related coverage and the national elections. BrandsEye reports that elections saw only 110236 mentions on election day, while the buildup in election conversation saw 426510 tweets.
Dawie Roodt, chief economist at the Efficient Group, confirmed that interest in the trial came with a corresponding dip in productivity.
But, he added, “South Africans are good at catching up” so the trial was unlikely to negatively affect the national economy.
“Sure there is a lot of productive time lost ... but the typical people watching are white-collar workers, can catch up easily, rather than factory workers doing manual labour,” he said. BrandsEye predicted a “huge spike” in interest when Judge Thokozile Masipa delivers her verdict in the Pistorius case.
Pistorius’s trial affects productivity
From the moment Paralympian Oscar Pistorius first entered the dock of the high court in Pretoria, where he stands accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, productivity declined, television ratings jumped and social media buzzed.
To date, the hive of activity surrounding what has been dubbed “the trial of the century” has only been surpassed by news of the death of former president Nelson Mandela.
With the trial being televised, the office or canteen television has become a gathering place for trial watchers – not only during lunch and tea breaks, but with some maintaining the semblance of work by lugging their laptops or tablets along during work hours.
Others listen to their radios, while some take advantage of the live streaming, blogging or Twitter feeds from the court room.
BrandsEye, an online monitoring and insights tool, reports that the trial has had more than two-and-a-half million mentions globally.
Conversations on Twitter spiked on the first day of the trial and later when Pistorius took the stand last month.
“The Oscar trial has seen a majority of real-time mentions online, mostly on Twitter and Facebook,” said BrandsEye chief executive, JP Kloppers.
This means people have been watching and tweeting live during work hours, with the trial taking place between 9.30am to 3pm on most weekdays.
According to media monitoring company Data Driven Insight, Pistorius’s testimony overshadowed other news – such as honeymoon murder accused Shrien Dewani’s arrival in South Africa, Marikana-related coverage and the national elections. BrandsEye reports that elections saw only 110236 mentions on election day, while the buildup in election conversation saw 426510 tweets.
Dawie Roodt, chief economist at the Efficient Group, confirmed that interest in the trial came with a corresponding dip in productivity.
But, he added, “South Africans are good at catching up” so the trial was unlikely to negatively affect the national economy.
“Sure there is a lot of productive time lost ... but the typical people watching are white-collar workers, can catch up easily, rather than factory workers doing manual labour,” he said. BrandsEye predicted a “huge spike” in interest when Judge Thokozile Masipa delivers her verdict in the Pistorius case.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos