Abstract
It has long been established that North American media organizations interpret the world through a white, Eurocentric lens, leading to content that is often stereotypic, inherently negative, lacking context and/or inaccurate when it comes to representations of racialized and Indigenous peoples. One of the ways to reduce the influence of the dominant culture, beyond diverse hiring measures, is to put the means of production in the hands of marginalized groups. This decolonizing approach has resulted in more balanced news coverage and more fulsome public dialogue on issues of race and identity than is generally seen in mainstream news. Podcasting as a form of media content is one way for First Peoples and racialized groups to tell their own stories in a format that is both authentic and engaging. This audio genre has many advantages over legacy media in terms of its ease of production and distribution, as well as its ability to connect with listeners on a personal level, explaining its growth in popularity. This presentation takes a case studies approach to explore three specific podcast series by racialized and Indigenous producers that demonstrates the promise of podcasting to deliver decolonized narratives to mainstream audiences. The analysis of Connie Walker’s award-winning Missing and Murdered: Finding Cleo, Ibram X. Kendi’s Be Antiracist, and Serial’s The Trojan Horse Affair offers strategies for under-represented groups to challenge the dominant media discourse that all too often stereotypes, lapses into fear and sensationalism, and lacks important historical context.
Presenters
Brad ClarkAssociate Professor, Broadcast Media Studies and Journalism, Mount Royal University, Alberta, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Podcasting, Podcasts, Media, Decolonize, Indigenous Peoples, Racialized Groups, Black, Misrepresentation
