ABC News is digging deeper into true-crime stories to keep fans listening to its audio offerings.
Two new offerings show the new lean toward tales of law and order. ABC News correspondent John Quiñones will host the new podcast “Vanished: What Happened to Vanessa,” starting September 16. The limited-run series tells the story of the 2020 murder of U.S. Army solider Vanessa Guillén. The Disney-backed news operation is also expanding its “20/20: The After Show” podcast into video form. Deborah Roberts will host the companion program starting Monday, September 29.
“This is what people want,” says Katie den Daas, who was recently named ABC News’ senior vice president of newsgathering, during a recent interview. “We are giving more of it to them.”
The news division can craft many different audio products with true-crime tales, the executive says. News aficionados are interested in catch-up coverage around current trials, but older crime stories may gain new traction if there’s a new turn in a case. ABC News has found traction with coverage tied to the recent trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs as well as that of Bryan Kohberger, recently convicted of killing four University of Idaho students.
ABC Audio has hopes of having as many as six or seven different true-crime stories up and running at any given time throughout the year, den Daas says. The company found it gained traction with the recent launch of “Devil in the Desert,” a podcast hosted by Matt Gutman that investigates the kidnapping and torture of two people in the Mojave Desert.
The “Vanished” series will take listeners back through the 2020 Guillén murder, featuring exclusive, never-before-heard interview audio from ABC News’ original reporting, and new updates from members of her family.
“20/20: The After Show” tells listeners how ABC News reporters and producers were able to report the story shown during each week’s “20/20,” with Roberts sharing how critical information was discovered and offering interviews with people involved in each case that did not make it to the original TV episode.
Each new ABC Audio limited series will contain a bonus episode, with Brad Mielke, host of the “Start Here” podcast supplying questions from listeners to the host of the project.