‘It doesn’t feel right to say how much I enjoyed this’: Listener perspectives on ethics in true crime podcasts

This research seeks a clearer understanding of listener perspectives on issues of ethics
in true crime podcasts (TCPs). To do so, the study first divides TCPs into three
subgenres: Documentary, Recap and Expert. Then, it uses a mixed methods content
analysis of listener reviews (n = 1200) of TCPs to ascertain listeners’ value systems
and preferences when assessing podcasts, the role of ethics in audience evaluations of
TCPs and the impact of subgenre on listener response. It finds that a large subsection
of the reviewer audience (29.7 per cent) privileged ethics as a key criterion for
evaluating and reviewing podcasts and that listeners’ level of engagement with issues
of ethics is specific, careful and nuanced. It also finds that subgenre can play a role
in shaping engagement with content, with Documentary and Recap formats more
likely to result in listeners relating to content as entertainment.