BCM 241 The Night Driver Blog Pitch

As my pitch details the different methods of collecting information and understanding through research and observation, there will be ethical obligations I will need to consider. “Podcast Ethnography” pointed out the ethical dimensions that should be considered when participating in “ethnographic lurking”, in comparison to its scientific value. Lundström acted as “distant observers” which is a similar role that I will be undertaking. 

When viewing a field site from a distance I will need to ensure that the experiences that I will be collecting information on has carefully considered obligations. This will include the exclusion of raw data from individuals inside the Australian true crime podcast community (this is seperate from data gathered from journalist’s articles, as they publish work to be consumed by an audience). By maintaining individuals anonymity, I will be able to place a focus on how the media impacts me and my experiences when exploring the Night Driver Podcast. It will be important to consider all involved in the podcast. For instance if only first names are provided in the podcast for certain individuals, then I will also present them in that manner (this also includes the use of pseudonyms).

Winter and Lavis’ “Looking, But Not Listening? Theorizing the Practice and Ethics of Online Ethnography” outline how “lurking” is more than listening it is participating, as this engages with emotions, multimedia and community context. When presenting resources from news media articles or paraphrasing I will need to ensure I provide sufficient context in order to present a fair analysis. Therefore my blog posts and research project should present personal experiences that are respectful and considerate of these online communities and participants.    

Resources:

Lundström, M & T.P. Lundström (2020) “Podcast Ethnography” International Journal of Social Research Methodology

Winter, R & Lavis, A (2020) ” Looking But Not Listening? Theorizing the Practice and Ethics of Online Ethnography” Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, Vol. 15, pp. 55-62

Pitch image resources:

The Australian – Janine Vaughan

The Australian – The Night Driver

The Australian – Who the Hell is Hamish

Mumbrella – Hedley Thomas

Muswellbrook Chronicle – March 2019 for Janine Vaughan’s disappearance

News Landed – Spotify redesigns podcasts

SMH – “Family seeking truth”

TBI Vision – The Teacher’s Pet

The Network of Australian True-Crime Podcasts

Australian True-Crime Podcasts Network Map

In order to narrow in the niche of Australian True-Crime podcasts I first need to identify what/who is involved and what will be excluded. By creating this “network map” I have been able to select the many cogs that work together to form an operating machine.

Janine Vaughan sister Kylie Spelde -“The Night Driver” photo by Milan Scepanovic

In order to narrow down this niche I have decided to focus on Australian made podcasts that focus on one crime story. This excludes the many popular podcast shows such as “Casefile” or “Australian True Crime” which presents new stories every episode. I believe this will help me to better research the podcasts on an individual level, as there would be more sources for audience feedback or tip off on a particular case. Podcasts that focus on one case also involves more collaboration from those involved such as friends, family, victims or suspects. This creates an interesting dynamic as you are able to hear from the people involved first hand, and analyse how they interact with the host/reporter and how they are presented on the podcast. 

Something interesting that I discovered when creating this map is the involvement of networks on true-crime podcasts. A considerable number of the top performing Australian True-Crime podcasts have large networks that have created them. This includes media outlets such as the Australian, the Age, Herald Sun or corporations such as ABC. The ability to access resources and established reporters could be a big influence on creating successful podcasts, as the networks are able to use podcasts as a new medium to present their reports. 

Transistor

Another aspect of the network map is the different sites audiences can use to interact with podcasts. Identifying podcast platforms is helpful to establish the listening habits of audiences, whether that be when they listen, how they listen, what they are doing and the length of time they listen for. Then discussion sites allow for the audience to debate and present theories, whether they create their own blog post or participate in dedicated subreddits. The particular genre of true-crime often encourages the audience to reach out inorder to provide more evidence that may help solve the case, this also creates another layer of interaction. The majority of Australian true-crime podcasts will create personal emails attached to the network that audiences can contact, but others use more secure sites such as Whispli that works as a communication platform for whistle blowing.      

When identifying some of the top and my personal favourite Australian true-crime podcasts I took note of the fact that a new podcast is just about to launch that has already hit number one on Australia’s true-crime podcast charts just for its trailer. The Australian’s “The Night Driver” is hosted and investigated by Hedley Thomas who is well known for the very popular Australian true-crime podcast “The Teacher’s Pet”. The impact “The Teacher’s Pet” had on the genre of Australian true-crime and also the breakthrough evidence that was created from the public interest is very notable. Therefore the release of The Night Driver could be interesting to research as the information and impact would occur across the time of my study. This release could allow me to analyse the network of a new Australian true-crime podcast and the impacts it has on the case itself and the audience. Elements such as social media content, speakers, social discourse and metadata are identified by Markus Lundström & Tomas Poletti Lundström in Podcast Ethnography, which could help me to identify the many research aspects that can be explored in a new popular podcast.     

Pictured: Janine Vaughan – The Australian

A New Australian Crime Podcast? Yeah I’ll listen for 8 hours.

Over 1.3 million Australians download podcasts to their mobile and each year this number is growing. Whether I am going for a walk, driving to uni, cleaning or having a morning coffee I can’t help but browse the podcast charts to find something that piques my interest. It seems everybody and their mum has a new true-crime podcast they are listening to and want to recommend. But there is something about Australian crime podcasts that just ropes me in.

Image: Who the Hell is Hamish – The Australian

My first experience with Australian true-crime podcasts was the release of The Australian’s “Who the Hell is Hamish?”, a detailed story about a man named Hamish Watson who swindled $7 million dollars from the people around him by being whoever he knew they needed him to be. Unlike watching an episode of 60 minutes or reading a newspaper article, you experience hours with the people involved, get to know them, how they feel and the whole situation. This intimate experience coupled with Australian accents and towns made them feel like my neighbours.    

Image: Snowball – InDaily

It is this lengthy experience listening to a single show that makes you feel more connected to other people who have listened as well. After listening to ABC’s Unravel True Crime: Snowball I recommended it to a friend, who promptly came back so we could talk about the most shocking/sad/funny parts. We couldn’t believe that parts of the podcast were not straight out of a movie, especially the interesting characters you “meet”.  This exchange can exclude those who haven’t listened, as you feel you cannot sum up the hours you have spent listening, learning and understanding those involved, which will only be understood by someone who has listened as well. 

While I am in no way an expert of Australian true-crime, when listening extensively to a particular podcast you definitely feel more knowledgeable on the details. When a news show runs an episode on a particular crime story that you have listened to a podcast on, you get the urge to jump in and fill in details that they have left out or explain why certain things occurred. It is easier to then get invested in any updates or reopening of cases, which is another reason why Australian crimes feel more close to home.

Image: The Teacher’s Pet – TBI Vision

The reopening or solving of cases because of a podcast is such a rewarding feeling. Finally being provided with real-world solutions for a story you have been so invested in! A popular podcast by The Australian called “The Teacher’s Pet” created such huge public interest that breakthrough evidence was able to lead to the arrest of Chris Dawson for the murder of his former wife Lynette Dawson. While I used “The Teacher’s Pet” to pass the time when driving to and from uni in my very first semester, it was the same podcast that brought previously silent witnesses forward and created important pieces of evidence that were used to bring justice for a 1982 case. Now this is one of the most download podcasts in Australian history, and is a great example of how such an easily consumable media can be used to spark change. 

Image: The Lighthouse Podcast – The Australian

The action taken after The Teacher’s Pet is more of a best-case scenario when it comes to the public interest and you hope other crimes reach the same conclusion. The Lighthouse documented the unsolved disappearance of Theo Hayze, a backpacker from Brussels in Byron Bay in 2019. When road tripping to Byron Bay earlier this year the podcast seemed like an interesting listen on the way up. It wasn’t until I frequently walked past the club “Cheeky Monkey” were Theo was last seen that I decided to place a pause on my listening. Unlike a news story or article, after hearing his devastated family and friends for hour-long episodes at a time I felt almost connected to their journey. Which is why these podcasts can be used as such an important tool in order to solve cases. 

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction and Australian true crime podcasts are proof of this.