Why is there a media obsession with the Steenkamp murder?

For the past week there has been nightly coverage of the murder of Reeva Steenkamp, which South African spring runner Oscar Pistorius has been charged with.  The question is why is this case getting such high profile coverage, often topping the TV news agenda and getting front page coverage in our newspapers.

To quote the African online newspaper Mail & Guardian:

The South African Institute of Race Relations said an average of 2 488 women had been murdered every year over the past six years.

Before looking up these facts I knew little about murder statistics in South Africa because South African news is rarely covered by the UK media.  This statistics are shocking and deserve a lot more focus than the Steenkamp murder, as tragic as it is.  The fact is that the UK is obsessed with the cult of celebrity.  News is often decided based on how high a celebrity profile the individual has who is being reported on.  What is especially disappointing is that news media which I usually rely on to be professional and non-sensational such as Channel 4 news and the Guardian are both giving more space to this story than it warrants.

Unforuntately for the coming year I see little opportunity to avoid this story, as it is being shaped into the trial of the year, with similar coverage to that we saw of the O.J.Simpson trial.

We can only hope some of our news media will focus on what really counts, such as the high homicide rates across the world.