Simon Creasey looks at how podcasts can be a powerful boost for reporting


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n 10 March 1987, private investigator Daniel Morgan was found dead in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south east London, from an axe wound to the head. What followed was one of the longest running


criminal investigations in the British justice system that has so far failed to bring about a single successful prosecution. The case has more plot twists and turns than a Hollywood


thriller and involves police corruption, the tabloid phone hacking scandal and a host of underworld characters. Its sheer drama attracted investigative journalist Peter


Jukes to the story. Jukes has a background in drama and, after coming across the story while covering the phone hacking trials, he decided to make a podcast about it. The resulting 10-episode long Untold: the Daniel Morgan


Murder podcast became an instant hit when it was launched in June this year, topping the download chart. Untold is just one of a growing number of podcasts created by journalists and news organisations over the past few years. In America, the Serial, Reveal and Longform podcasts have attracted major audiences, bringing younger listeners to long form stories that they might not have accessed through more traditional media. So what’s behind the rise of the journalism podcast and


what do journalists considering making one need to know? The recent thirst for journalism podcasts can arguably be traced to the US hit series Serial, which caused a sensation when it was launched in 2014. Hosted by Sarah Koenig (pictured right), series one of Serial told the story of Adnan Syed, a 17-year-old high school student in Baltimore County, Maryland, who was found guilty of murdering his ex- girlfriend in what may or may not have been a miscarriage of justice. With forensic zeal, Koenig reports the chronology of the


crime and highlights a series of issues with the prosecution’s case. Serial had audiences hooked and went on to become a massive global hit. More importantly, it inspired other journalists and media organisations to create podcast series of their own. One such media outlet is US sports


organisation ESPN, which in August this year released a 16-part podcast series called Pin Kings as part of a multimedia story about two high school wrestlers who ended up on opposite sides of the drugs war in the US. Victor Vitarelli,


12 | theJournalist


There is a sense of sitting alongside the reporter, participating in the investigation as it goes along


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ESPN senior coordinating producer, who oversaw the Pin Kings project, has his own theory as to why journalism podcasts are so popular at the moment. “I think people are embracing 20-30 minutes a day where they can go off the grid and enjoy a good story,” says Vitarelli. “People are busy and podcasts allow the consumer to listen when they want and multitask while they are listening.” He adds that, regarding journalism podcasting, he believes listeners like the idea of the “curtain being pulled back” on how journalists work. “In Pin Kings, we let the producer and the reporter talk


about the actual process of reporting and producing the story as well as their perception of certain situations or characters. Not only does this add another layer to the story, but also I think it gives a very unique perspective to the storytelling,” says Vitarelli. Kate Hoyland, partner at media training group Quattrain,


who set up and ran the BBC production trainee scheme, teaches a one-day course for journalists who want to start making podcasts, and she agrees with Vitarelli’s assessment that the popularity of the podcast format boils down to great journalism and great storytelling. “I know many people who wouldn’t necessarily listen to podcasts as a form, but have been drawn in by the storytelling and found themselves hooked,” says Hoyland. “There’s also the fascination of wanting to know the denouement and because this is still up for grabs – as the stories are ongoing and haven’t been resolved [in the case of Serial series one and Untold] – it gives listeners the chance to play amateur detective and reach conclusions of their own. So there is a sense of sitting alongside the reporter, participating in the investigation as it goes along and I really like this feeling of journalism laid bare, something the intimacy of the podcast format really lends itself to.” Finding a great story was integral to the success of these aforementioned podcasts, and so too was the way in which the story was presented. Making the transition from print storytelling to podcast journalism isn’t straightforward. Jukes admits that producing the Untold podcast was a steep learning curve despite the fact that he’d done some radio drama in the past. He knew that he had a great story. “This was like the Long


Good Friday meets Our Friends in the North meets LA,” says Jukes. “I say this in a slightly mercenary way, but it was a gift for a story teller.” Jukes also knew that the story was so complex it would be a


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