True Crime Podcasts and the Domestic Violence Survivors in Their Audiences
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University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations Spring 2020 Fundamentally Different Stories That Matter: True Crime Podcasts and the Domestic Violence Survivors in Their Audiences Kelli S. Boling Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation Boling, K. S.(2020). Fundamentally Different Stories That Matter: True Crime Podcasts and the Domestic Violence Survivors in Their Audiences. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/5959 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT STORIES THAT MATTER: TRUE CRIME PODCASTS AND THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS IN THEIR AUDIENCES by Kelli S. Boling Bachelor of Science Winthrop University, 1999 Master of Mass Communication University of South Carolina, 2007 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Journalism and Mass Communications College of Information and Communications University of South Carolina 2020 Accepted by: Leigh M. Moscowitz, Major Professor Carol J. Pardun, Committee Member Kevin Hull, Committee Member Drucilla Barker, Committee Member Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright by Kelli S. Boling, 2020 All Rights Reserved. ii DEDICATION For Mother – your love of words and confidence to do hard things was instilled in me at a young age. I am the woman that I am because of your example, and for that, I am truly grateful. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helps you.” - Althea Gibson Originally, this acknowledgement was a well-written tribute to all those who have supported me throughout this process. Unfortunately, the formatting requirements for this dissertation have forced me to cut it down to one page or less. So, I will simply list the names of those that have helped, guided, listened, bought coffee, prayed, hugged, cried, stood by me, and held me up throughout this process. If you want to know exactly how amazing these folks are, visit this link to see the original version of this section: http://kelliboling.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/KBoling_diss_ack.pdf Dr. Leigh Moscowitz, Dr. Carol Pardun, Dr. Kevin Hull, Dr. Drucilla Barker, Minhee, Denetra, Noura, Mother and Daddy, Clara and Juli, Shelby, Ella Jane, Miles, and my better half, Hun. Thank you all, for everything. I owe you, big time. iv ABSTRACT This audience reception study qualitatively examines women who identify as both domestic violence survivors and fans of true crime podcasts. Using a feminist, critical cultural lens, this study explores why these women are drawn to these podcasts and how the content presented intersects with their lived experiences as domestic violence survivors. Employing a multi-method approach, I interviewed 16 women who listen to true crime podcasts and identify as domestic violence survivors as well as six hosts/producers of true crime podcast media and conducted an in-depth narrative analysis on one of the most popular podcasts mentioned by my participants. Sixteen in-depth qualitative interviews with audience members reveal six major themes: love of a good story, uniqueness of audio media, the educational value of true crime podcasts, connection to lived experiences, the potential therapeutic role of true crime narratives, and the community connections forged by listening to true crime podcasts. Through in-depth qualitative interviews with six true crime podcast hosts, this study also examines the political economy of podcast production, the atypical interactions that these hosts have with domestic violence survivors in their audiences, and how they are working with their audience members to present a counter-narrative to create awareness and improve understanding while simultaneously empowering victims to seek assistance and shed the stigma of shame that is prevalent for victims in our society. Combining qualitative interviews with a narrative analysis of the COLD podcast, the top podcast mentioned by participants that covers a domestic violence case, I examine v the narrative structure of COLD, unpack the intended and stated storylines, juxtapose the stated themes with the counter-narratives that emerged, and interrogate how COLD measures up to what my participants defined as a “favorite” true crime podcast. I also explore the production decisions that were made and the impact those decisions had on the final product by combining insights from my interview with the host of COLD and the narrative analysis of the podcast. Ultimately, I found that the female domestic violence survivors in true crime podcast audiences are using this emerging media in unprecedented ways and challenging the patriarchal nature of the criminal justice system and media’s traditional coverage of domestic violence. My participants demonstrated that they have formed a collective identity and a virtual community where their voices are heard, their stories are normalized, and that they are collaborating with true crime podcasters to process their own trauma and educate others about the reality of their lived experiences. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Abstract ................................................................................................................................v List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................16 Chapter 3: Methodology ....................................................................................................45 Chapter 4: The Power of a Good Story for a listening audience .......................................64 Chapter 5: Producing Stories that Matter .........................................................................108 Chapter 6: One Compelling Story ....................................................................................142 Chapter 7: Conclusion ......................................................................................................192 References ........................................................................................................................203 Appendix A: Participant Questionnaire ...........................................................................216 Appendix B: Interview Protocol for Participants .............................................................221 Appendix C: Interview Protocol for Podcasters ..............................................................224 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 Summary of Participants ..................................................................................107 Table 5.1 Summary of Podcasts and Podcasters who Participated in the Study .............140 Table 5.2 Participant Podcast Rankings ...........................................................................141 Table 6.1 Summary of COLD episodes and length .........................................................187 Table 6.2 Emotions, Violence, and Themes noted in COLD ...........................................189 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS APM ................................................................................................ American Public Media DSHS ................................................................. Department of Social and Health Services GO .................................................................................................... Gratifications Obtained GS ....................................................................................................... Gratifications Sought LDS ........................................................................................................... Latter-Day Saints NCADV ...................................................... National Coalition Against Domestic Violence PCR ................................................................................................... Post Conviction Relief RSS ........................................................................................................ Rich Site Summary SPJ ................................................................................. Society of Professional Journalists UDVC ............................................................................ Utah Domestic Violence Coalition ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION “Until our society gets better at preventing violence, true crime stories will never be in short supply. And they will attract those far removed from the subjects and those of us who know violence all too well. We are all fascinated with our dark places.” – Jes Skolnik, in an Op-Ed about attraction to true crime podcasts published in The