In the past few years, the world has transitioned from the classic ways of receiving news and learning about events to a digitalized world that makes everything easily accessible. One specific community has really taken advantage of this transition from paper to screen: the true crime community.
With the explosion of podcasts especially, people are able to hear about cases that might have previously just been in the paper for a day or two, then never heard of again. While many people still read the newspaper, younger generations can prefer the new medium of podcasts. Podcasts can be listened to while driving to work, or while going on a run, and many people view it as a much more flexible way to receive information. However, both podcasts and news articles have aspects that the other does not have.
In the case of the Golden State killer, the news article gave much more background and was able to provide pictures within the article, something that a podcast does not have the ability to do. The article is also split into different sections, with titles and subtitles, something that can be helpful to a reader if they want to go back and review a specific portion of the article, which can be especially helpful if doing research. It also lets you know where the article is headed, something that might not be possible in a podcast.
The podcast has its own benefits however, as it provides a much more conversational dialogue. Podcasts often have interviews and sound clips of the actual people involved in the case, as was true with the podcast about the Golden State Killer. The ability to hear the inflection in people’s voices and the specific points they want to emphasize, or emotions they want to convey is something that is much harder to do in a written article. Overall, I find that I prefer written articles, probably because it is more conventional and I am more familiar with it. I also find it easier to skim a written article, which is not exactly possible with a podcast, maybe you can put it in 2x speed? However, podcasts have exploded in popularity in recent years, inspiring many people to pursue cases on their own time and uncover evidence that was previously overlooked. In this sense, both are valuable resources. (390)