The empty jury box
IN PHOTO: The empty jury box is pictured as jurors have the day off during a motion regarding jail phone recordings in the murder trial for former NFL player Aaron Hernandez at the Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River, Massachusetts March 25, 2015. Hernandez, 25, a former New England Patriots, is being tried for the fatal shooting in June 2013 of Odin Lloyd, a semiprofessional football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty. REUTERS/Dominick Reuter

The popularity of podcasts reached new heights with the 12-episode run of “Serial,” a non-fiction investigation of the 1999 Baltimore murder of Hae Min Lee. After its successful run, a follow-up titled “Undisclosed: The State v. Adnan Syed” is expected to premiere on April 13, much to the anticipation of the millions of listeners who religiously tuned in to “Serial.”

Produced by investigative journalist Sarah Koenig, “Serial” explored the case of 17-year-old Adnan Syed, who was charged with the murder of his girlfriend, 18-year-old Hae Min Lee. Lee’s body was found on Feb 9, 1999 in Leakin Park, and two weeks later, Syed was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Though pleading innocent, Syed was convicted for murder and sentenced to life plus 30 years, without the possibility of parole.

The case was brought to life in October 2014 and it immediately attracted attention because of its gritty and appealing nature. The narrative of the podcast is often compared to the likes of House of Cards, only in audio form. By December 2014, Serial has been downloaded 40 million times on iTunes.

Sponsored by the Adnan Syed Legal Trust, Undisclosed will endeavour to bring the truth to the surface. The trust, funded by LaunchGood.com, was set up by “concerned citizens and friends” of Syed, including lawyer Rabia Chaudry. Chaudry was the one who brought the case to Koenig’s attention, resulting to a worldwide awareness of Syed’s case.

Koenig’s independent investigation on the case revealed inconsistencies with the testimonies of the main witness, “Jay,” whose last name was never revealed in the podcast.

Undisclosed’s website states that in the wake of Serial, a batch of new evidence and information became available. Now at 34 years old, Syed has been granted an appeal by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, thanks to the added investigations of lawyers Susan Simpson and Colin Miller, and the said Legal Trust.

The appeal was granted because Syed’s former lawyer, Cristina Gutierrez, failed to interview a possible alibi witness. This information came to light in the podcast.

The justice system isn’t the only thing that “Serial” shook up. Because of the series, podcasting became a multi-million dollar industry, especially with the rise of advertising agencies particularly catering to podcast placements. A good example is how AdLarge Media partnered up with London-based podcast website Audioboom for exclusive representation of advertising opportunities. With the diversity of its spoken word content, Audioboom is quickly increasing its audience reach worldwide, attracting advertisers that want to get a hold of that demographic.

“Spoken word content has never been stronger. AudioBoom provides a fantastic opportunity to put listeners and marketers together. We’re really excited about what we can do for our brand advertisers with this partnership,” said Jay Green, AdLarge Media’s VP of Digital Sales Content and Partnership in a report by Rain News.

For questions or feedbacks, please email a.lu@ibtimes.com.au.

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