For my first blog post I covered the Melissa Calusinski case, so I thought it was fitting for my last post to cover it also. Since the first two episodes were released updates have been made and Jillian the narrator has created new episodes to cover these updates. I wanted to cover these updates because all episodes typically follow the same pattern, but the updates have a different layout since the story behind the case is already known. A typical episode begins with Jillian summarizing the case that is going to be discussed and giving a background on all the people involved. She then starts to dive into the court documents and includes as many personal interviews as possible. The episode then typically ends with the judge’s verdict on the case and the episodes wraps up. Updates have to have a different layout because Jillian has already covered all the aspects that she typically covers.
The updates begin with a very brief summary to allow the readers to be refreshed on the case they will be listening to, but it is much less in depth than the original. Jillian always recommends listening to the original episode to avoid confusion and to help her to not waste time explaining a story she has already explained. This allows the episode to quickly dive into the court documents and interviews that have occurred after the original episode was published. In this case specifically Jillian begins to discuss the new x rays that have been introduced due to an anonymous phone call that Melissa’s father receives. Melissa summarizes the new update and then summarizes the court case that followed. The result of the new court case was not fair in the Calusinski’s opinion and this caused for an appeal to be made to be heard in another court. Sadly, the appeal takes time so no official update was made in the two recent episodes, but Jillian promised to complete the story when new information is presented.
Even though the layout changes the narrative features tend to stay the same. Jillian continues to use updated personal interviews, real court documents and music to set the tone. The audio of the judge speaking during the appeal is included and allows the viewers to trust the information presented. Jillian explains these audio clips by using the notes from the real court case to gather even more evidence to gain the viewer’s trust. Direct quotes from key witnesses are used to allow the viewers to have enough information to make their own opinion before the court’s verdict is answered, which is one of my favorite parts of listening. Dramatic music is still used during transitions to remind viewers that injustice is involved in our court system. These updates are more about injustice than typical episodes because they show how the results are still being questioned and are possibly not fair. Melissa’s appeal focuses on this injustice because it shows how certain vital evidence was overlooked and could potentially prove Melissa’s innocence. Even though this episode didn’t end with a final update, it promised more in the future to keep the readers hooked.
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Hey Jennifer, it sounds like our two podcasts are kinda similar in that they both have episodes where the format changes, but the change isn’t so drastic that it affects the identity of the show as a whole. For example, both Court Junkie and A Murder on Orchard Street are able to construct an identity that is solid enough for both to have episodes that deviate from the formula without jeopardizing the overall identity of the shows. My podcast, A Murder on Orchard Street, shares many similar narrative features to Court Junkie such as how it weaves audio clips, such as interviews and news reports from 2003, with the narration to build the narrative of each episode. Episodes 3 and 7 of Orchard Street deviated from the usual formula of the host, Kristina Kylie, narrating between audio clips from interviews and news reports through subtle changes, such as a heavier usage of music and even changing the narrator for episode 3 to represent how the case was being examined from another point of view. Music in both of our podcasts seemed to be timed and used to set a tense mood, for example in episode 7 of Orchard Street, a music cue came in when an eyewitness that Kylie and Detective Kenny Silvia were interviewing revealed that he was acting coy about forgetting the shooting he witnessed. It sounds like something similar happens in Court Junkie when they give the jury’s final verdict.
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After reading your response, it seems like our podcasts have some similarities in structure but also have some differences in style by the narrator. My podcast was Serial with the narrator Sara Koenig and she also uses a lot of the same techniques such as using music, bringing in different interviewers and diving deeper into the case the farther the episode goes. One of the differences it seems like is that in your podcast your narrator seems to switch up the agenda in each episode, while Serial tends to follow a very similar structure of how the episode goes each time. There is no right or wrong but it just gives a different experience for the listeners. Personally, I kind of like having the same structure in each episode because it is easier to follow as long as the information is constantly changing and keeping me on my toes. If there was not new information then I could see how it would be nice to not hear the same structure every single time and could keep the audience more engaged. Another difference is that in Serial the narrator does not lay out the overview of what is going to be talked about in the episode and rather starts at one place and finishes the podcast in a totally different place. This makes the episode super interesting and new details are constantly being added throughout the episode and forces the listeners to stay engaged. Also although both of these podcasts use music, Serial uses the same music each episode to transition and to start and end each episode. This makes the audience excited when they hear it as well as making the transitions less boring. However, I wouldn’t really say that Serial uses tense music when something serious happens and doesn’t really use music to set the tone as much as your podcast. Overall, there are some similarities as well as differences but I would be willing to listen to one your podcasts to see how they compare.
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