True Crime as a Journalistic Genre : A Qualitative Analysis on Framing of Victims and Perpetrators in Swedish Journalistic True Crime Podcasts

True crime as a journalistic genre has long been discussed from an ethical standpoint. Is it ethical in a journalistic context to portray real-life tragic events in a format that includes name-dropping, detailed descriptions, and personal information? This study aims to analyze how four cases of widely known Swedish crimes are portrayed in journalistic true crime-podcasts, focused on the portrayal of victims and perpetrators. The aim of the study is to analyze portrayal of victims and perpetrators in relation to the “roles” of victim and perpetrator. Therefore, case-specific circumstances or other affecting details are not analyzed. Because of limited time, the study does not aim to analyze portrayal of the cases´ entirety nor the effects it has on the podcasts´ consumers. The empirical material consists of four Swedish cases, eight episodes, created by P3 Dokumentär (public service) and Spöktimmen (commercial), and will be analyzed by thematic and narrative analysis. This study’s theoretical lens includes framing, narrative portrayal and their alignment to ethical journalistic guidelines, therefore, the theoretical framework consists primarily of The Framing Theory by Reese et al. (2001) and The Character Clock by Eder (2014). The results of previous research, such as Slakoff (2023), indicates that victim blaming and perpetrator justification are regular practices in true crime-podcasts. The thematic results of the study show, quite the opposite, that P3 Dokumentär and Spöktimmen both frame the victims from a moral standpoint limited to positive qualities, perpetuating the stereotype of an “ideal” victim. Although there was a slight indication of victim blaming regarding the framing of their lifestyle. The framing of perpetrators was, in line with previous research, partly focused on background and mental health, while the main framing focused on the perpetrator as an odd individual with dehumanized traits. The narrative results showed major differences in the narrative structure and auditory elements. Spöktimmen portrayed victims through a symbolic perspective while P3 Dokumentär portrayed victims as represented beings. Both podcasts portrayed perpetrators as artefacts with indications of symbols and symptoms. Ethical dilemmas in Spöktimmen were primarily their personified approach in narrative structure. Ethical dilemmas in P3 Dokumentär were primarily usage of personal and sensitive information and other ethical aspects in context to public service. Although both podcasts fell into an ethical gray area, it could be argued P3 Dokumentärs´ ethical dilemmas are more severe in relation to their public service remit.