True Crime Content - Morals and Ethics

I must talk about this somewhere because I am passionate about this subject. 

Let's be real: we've probably all consumed some type of True Crime content in our lives. Maybe it was a Netflix documentary about Gabby Petito, a Lifetime reenactment movie special, or The Act on Hulu. True Crime has always been a fascination of society. That's why there's shows like Law and Order, or Criminal Minds. Maybe it's just because I'm older, or everyone and their mother has a podcast, but True Crime is now something that is an extremely popular genre of media that people are consuming and I want to discuss what the ethics of that is. 

I want to come on here and say first and foremost that I am a big consumer of True Crime media. I listen to a lot of podcasts as well as watch the shows that come out on Netflix about popular cases. I like to believe that there is some merit to telling people's stories, but it's only too common for content creators to use other people's nightmares and turn it into profit. 

As someone who listens to True Crime, I will list some content that I've listened to and whether or not I believe that they are doing it the "right" way. 

My frame of reference in what is right and wrong is ultimately in my most favorite podcast studio: Mile Higher Media. They have a couple of podcasts that they make, and it is a small team founded by a husband and wife duo. Kendall has her own show, True Crime with Kendall Rae that has been popping off for a couple of years now. With her husband Josh, they have Mile Higher Podcast, and Josh has a spin off show called Lights Out, going into the darker, paranormal, scarier stuff. For Kendall's mental health she also has a podcast called The Sesh, that she hosts with her cousin and besties. They do silly things and occasionally talk about True Crime, but nothing very heavy. 

Why are these guys my frame of reference about how to do this right? 

They have been for years dedicated to working with families of the victims they talk about, talking about cases that are not necessarily headlining news. They tell these stories to viewers to spread the word about either a missing persons case, or to get justice for the victim and their family. They have launched their foundation, The Higher Hope Foundation, that donates all money gained from either merch or donations that directly impacts victim's and their families, whether it's a grant for a private investigator, cadaver dogs, funeral costs, anything that would ease even a little of the financial burden of the unexpected loss of a loved one. These guys know that what they discuss isn't just to line their pockets. They care deeply about the victims and their families, and always try to honor the victims and not their assailant. 

Another podcast I listen to is Crime Weekly with Stephanie and Derek. Derek (winner of Big Brother 16) has been a detective for most of his professional career and has branched off into being a private detective as well as a podcast host. Him and Stephanie discuss cases in depth, painting a vivid image of what life was like before they became a victim, and ultimately trying to honor their lives. Derek states over and over again that the point of the podcast is to learn from these crimes and try to be more vigilant so maybe this type of crime won't happen again. 

I am all in for Mile Higher Media, but Crime Weekly I'm still a bit iffy on. I know they have a business called Criminal Coffee and they use the profits from their coffee and merch to help solve cold cases by either paying for a DNA specialist on the case, or whatever they do. I think that's great, but I do think they could be doing more to honor the victims and families. 

As you can probably see from the way I talk about these podcasts, my belief in the right way to go about consuming True Crime is to honor victims and learn from their tragedy. Maybe next time, people won't just stand around and watch something terrible happen. In Gabby Petito's case, maybe next time a cop pulls over a couple for a domestic disruption, they won't just let them go, and take it more seriously. 

I've listened to other podcasts, but felt icky about the way they were promoting their merch or their podcast. I am a firm believer that when it comes to True Crime, telling stories that are not yours to necessarily tell, should NEVER be behind a pay wall. If you have a podcast and want to make a patreon, or have a "bonus" episode people can buy... do NOT cover a case. I think that is vile. 

You're telling me you are advertising that if I pay $5, I can listen to you share someone else's story, someone's worst day of their life, a family's most tragic event, and that money will go right into your pocket??? Fuck no. That's disgusting. True Crime is TRUE crime. It really happened to someone and that person had a life and a family. Did you ask permission before you decided to put their story behind a paywall? Is that money going directly to the victim's family? I'm sure it isn't. 

Serialously with Annie Elise is the perfect example of this. I listened to her show for a couple of months until I realized how disgusting it was that she was advertising her paywall content, sharing "a bonus episode" about someone's real life that is not hers, for her own profit. 

I also think it's gross and wrong the people that do their make up while telling the story of someone's literal murder. Like can we open our eyes for a second and really absorb what that means. Our brains are so rotted, our morals are so demolished that we tune into watching people apply their makeup while casually discussing a horrific event that really happened to someone. 

Murder with my Husband is another podcast I had to stop listening to. A husband and wife duo discuss cases without really discussing who the victim was before their murder, or talking about how to possibly learn from it, to prevent it, or anything. It is literally pure entertainment for these guys. Of course they have a merch shop and a patreon where they have paywalled content and bonus episodes covering cases that you won't be able to hear for free. Like I said, that's vile! Think about it! No story, no content covering someone else's tragic story should be for profit, especially for people who have no connection and just decided on a whim to start up a True Crime podcast for funsies. 

I am extremely cautious when listening to a new True Crime podcast or the ones that are recommended to me because I listen to Mile Higher. I don't think Spotify quite understands the difference in approach for True Crime podcasts, and for me that's the most important part. The intention and motive for making these podcasts is so important. What is the goal here? To entertain, make money? To raise awareness for a case that went overlooked by the media? To share someone's story to get the word out there, to see if anyone has any information that could possibly break a case? 

The Netflix documentaries and Lifetime reenactments are something else. It seems like the 20/20 specials on cases try to make up a story that may or may not be true and run with it. For Alissa Turney's case (Voices for Justice by Sarah Turney) (Sister of missing girl Alissa who was allegedly murdered by their father), their story on 20/20 was that she ran away, and her father was portrayed as a loving, caring father that was trying to do everything in his power to find her. Obviously, their portrayal of him was biased and skewed. Seems like a good amount of family members who had to go on 20/20 for their loved one's disappearances or murders were extremely dissatisfied with their experiences on these shows. 

There's so much to cover when it comes to this content creation zest pool that is the True Crime space. I haven't even mentioned Crime Con, the focus on the criminal over the victim, the over-saturation of specific cases over others (because of the profile of the victim) (Gabby Petito and Jelani Day) (Crimes that happened around the same time and Gabby became a household name and Jelanie's killers are still out there, undiscovered). It's all so messed up. Is there even a right way to consume or produce this type of content? Am I just rationalizing my decision to tune into content like this so I can feel better about the fact that I watch stuff like this? Why does this type of media even exist? 

I will probably make a part two to this blog post but for now I'll leave it open. 

Have any of you listened to these Podcasts I've mentioned? Do you think differently about them now? Is this something that should be discussed, or are we cool just accepting that this is a popular form of media that we consume? 

Let me know! 

Til next time, 

xoxo 

GG

Edit: Everyone should look into Jelani's story, it's extremely tragic what happened to such a promising young man, and the fact that his family still does not have justice is awful.