Some of the same reasons America was in awe of John and Jackie Kennedy in the early 60's.
It was more than just politics. They even called it Camelot.
It was definitely a vibe or feel about those lifestyles verses the inner city working man.
The moral of Quiz show is how TV is (was) going to change culture. "It's going to get them."
You had to be there maybe.
We are experiencing a similar cultural change right now with hand held electronics and instant individual mass communication and you may not even realize it.
. Ephemeron.

So what was the moral of "Quiz Show"? If you are ethnic, working class and/or have poor social skills you will be disliked by the masses. And if you are like Van Doren life gets handed to you on a silver platter.

Yes, John Turturro made Stempel easy to sympathize with (as did Ralph Fiennes with Van Doren, IMO). One of the major strengths of the film, I feel, is that
both
its lead male characters are easy to understand and relate to.

I just didn't get it. Maybe it was because I had a lot of empathy for Herb Stempel.

"A polished Eddie Haskell" LOL! But seriously, I thought Charles Van Doren in the movie seemed like a basically good person who just got in over his head, so to speak. The impression I got was that, although he knew very well that cheating was wrong, he was too young and emotionally immature (i.e. he was coasting on his family name and had not yet established his own identity) to continue to resist the temptation to cheat. I don't believe he was
actually
an "Eddie Haskell," two-faced type of guy; the fact that he was so troubled by guilt proves it.
Why were TV audiences attracted to Van Doren? I think it was because he was young and good-looking in a "blond" (i.e. non-"ethnic") way; he was educated and well-spoken, too. Girls probably thought he was sophisticated and cute.