Abstract

This thesis explores the various narrative strategies used by the dramatized narrator of Sarah Koenig in the podcast series Serial. It views these strategies through the lens of journalistic professionalism and ethical guidelines; standards built on ideas of neutrality, balance, fairness and objectivity. Koenig's personal and confessional voice illustrates the potentially intimate nature of the podcast medium, and challenges traditional conceptions of what journalism is and what it should be. The series' mainstream success further amplifies these questions, as journalism is facing existential threats in a digital world where access to information is plentiful and its distribution democratized. Using narratological terms, this thesis describes how Koenig's dramatized narrator is used to communicate ambiguity, convey transparent subjectivity, encourage audience engagement, and uses journalistic storytelling as a humanizing process. These aspects not only result in a powerful form of storytelling, but also provide future professionals with an alternative approach to journalism in an age where objectivity has become a fraught ideal.