“True crime, wine, bed by nine” : A qualitative interview study on why women in particular get caught up in murder podcasts

Among the countless genres of entertainment, true crime has been rising in popularity over the last decade. In this study, I examine why women listen to true crime podcasts (a new emerging form of audio journalism). Using an audience reception model and a qualitative perspective, I investigate how they create meaning from the content. Media can play an important role (either intentionally or unintentionally) in women's lives. By analysing how the audience interprets and uses a certain genre of podcasts, this study focuses on how they interact to process experiences within the awareness of violence presented within this media form. By primarily applying previous research, as well as extensive work within the uses and gratifications theory and female reception studies (coupled with morbid curiosity and deviant leisure as supporting frameworks) in the analysis of the empirical material, I was able to gain a profound understanding of female individual practices, as well as how they legitimize their actions. Employing a qualitative method approach, I interviewed 20 women who listen to true crime podcasts, and conducted an in-depth narrative analysis on the true crime consumption mentioned by my participants. Some distinct results based on the extensive material generated by the interviews were observed. The participating female podcast consumers cited that they listen to true crime podcasts to stay entertained and acquire information. Furthermore, they continue to listen despite the fact that many of them have experienced fear and are becoming more cautious about their surroundings. Ultimately, I discovered that the women in true crime podcast audiences are using this emerging media in unprecedented ways. My informants determined that they have shaped a collective identity and a virtual community where their voices are heard, and that they interface with true crime podcasts to process their own lives and interact with others about the reality of their lived experiences. This work seeks to add depth to true crime podcasts and their audience reception, and research will hopefully be a contribution into understanding how media messages influence women who are obsessed with true crime