Sarah Koening is the host of the podcast Serial, a story that follows the murder of teenage Hae Min Lee and her alleged murderer Adnan Syed. Koening put herself out into the world with the serial podcast in 2014, and once the podcast was finished it ended up being worth twenty-five million dollars. Even though Sarah deliberately says throughout the podcast that she is pursuing this case for her own curious reasons, she really wants us to listen for her own personal gain. She demonstrates this want for fame, money, and views by effectively making the case a narrative rather than an expositive story, through her author's craft and use of rhetorical devices, and her constant use of cliffhangers at the end of each episode.
A good true crime story
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Episode 3 for example she ends it with this sentence “And while I don't exactly know why suspicions about Adnan start to percolate, I have an educated guess. Next week, on Serial.” Endings like this are what make her viewers ask the questions “Well what evidence makes her suspicious of Adnan?” and “What does she know that we don't?” Even though she could easily wrap up the end of each episode with a complete ending she purposely chooses not to. This is how she manipulates foreshadowing and makes her viewers want to come back for more which inevitably leads to more profit and fame for …show more content…
Her infatuation with the case begins with a call from Adnans best friends older sister Rabia. Koenig looked more into the case and describes it as a “Shakespeare Mashup” in episode 1. Rabia also informs Koenig that she believed Adnans lawyer had botched the case on purpose in order to get more money for the appeal, which enhanced Koenigs interest in the case even more. Throughout the Serial episodes Koenig begins to stray further away from her claim of doing the case out of pure interests. She begins to show bias towards Adnan. Her evidence also becomes sloppy where from in the beginning she is asking multiple sources about one single problem to see all sides of the story, but towards the end of the podcast it feels as if shell take the word of anyone who will give it to her in order to give us
On top of that, he was convicted and given a life sentence in prison. Adnan had spent over fifteen years there with no chance of getting out until the hit podcast, Serial hosted by Sarah Koeing, brought new facts to light about this shut-and-closed case. This podcast as well as, Undisclosed created by Rabia Chaudry, Susan Simpson, and Colin Miller, both explain and analyze the facts of the case: known and unknown. With this all in mind, the court unfairly convicted Adnan Syed. To start, the court wrongfully accepted the discombobulated testimony of Jay Wilds.
Small speculations and changes to a story throughout the podcast can immensely change a whole
Many people who were brought to trial in defense of Syed were character witnesses; witnesses who would usually say something along the lines of, “The Adnan I knew wouldn’t do such a thing.” Aisha Pittman, Hae Min Lee’s best friend, talked with Koenig for the podcast. Pittman stated that although he ‘generally annoyed’ her, she was not ‘freaked out’ by his behavior during Syed and Lee’s relationship. Throughout the podcast, Koenig paints a picture of Adnan Syed and who he is. She uses character witnesses, including herself, to indicate that Syed is a good person.
The Serial podcast captivated millions of listeners as it dug deep into the case of Adnan Syed, a man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. While Syed's sentence to life in prison may initially seem justified, a closer examination of the evidence presented in the podcast raises significant doubts about his guilt. This essay aims to challenge Adnan Syed's sentence by presenting material from three episodes of Serial, revealing inconsistencies in the prosecution's case, unreliable witness testimonies, and the lack of conclusive evidence tying Syed to the crime. Throughout the podcast, several inconsistencies and discrepancies emerge, undermining the reliability of the prosecution's case against Adnan Syed.
For example, she might downplay evidence that doesn't fit her narrative or emphasize certain details that support her interpretation of events. This can lead to a biased representation of the case and may not give the listener a complete and accurate understanding of what happened. For example, in episode 5 of Serial. Sarah Koenig continues to talk about cell phone towers and patterns they found for 50 minutes, and it ends up being a dead lead when little is concluded from the tower's information. When in reality this topic could’ve been summed up and shortened greatly to make time for something else, either something already mentioned or time for something new she hadn’t yet
She does not fully evaluate who other possible suspects could be, and their role in Hae Min Lee’s death. This proves her bias, as a complete evaluation of the case must include an evaluation of other suspects. Furthermore, Sarah Koenig did not objectively evaluate Jay Wilds’ witness statement. Instead of solely focusing on what Wilds said and the factual evidence to support it, she attacks Wilds' credibility in a biased manner. In the podcast, Koenig stated, “Jay sold weed”.
This case has many holes and problems that bug me, one being the fact Adnan was sentenced without any physical evidence excluding call records. Hae’s reason for passing was strangulation which is a violent and personal crime, It doesn't add up to the statements Adnan and others observed about their relationship.
Throughout Serial (a podcast discussing the love story between two teens from Baltimore in the 1990s), Adnan Syed is interviewed by Sarah Koenig as her goal is to find out who really killed Hae Min Lee as she deeply investigates
Emma Marris uses many types of persuasive elements in her essay “Emma Marris: In Defense of Everglade Pythons”. In her writing she persuades her readers that the pythons should be allowed to be in the everglades since it is not their fault that they are there in the first place. She uses metaphors to relate to the reader and word choice to enhance her writing.
Serial is a podcast that first premiered in 2014 and quickly became a cultural phenomenon. The podcast, produced by Sarah Koenig, is a spin-off of the radio program This American Life and tells the story of a 1999 murder case in Baltimore, Maryland. The story is told through a series of episodes, each one delving deeper into the case and the investigation. The podcast uses a variety of rhetorical devices to create suspense and engage the audience.
The most difficult thing an author can do when telling a story, is attracting an audience, and maintaining the audience’s engagement. In Serial, while telling the story of Adnan Syed, Sarah Koenigs attracts the audience with her purpose which is proving that Adnan Syed was wrongfully convicted and isn't completely guilty. Sarah maintains the attention of her audience by using emotional, and logical appeal, while also establishing credibility. In other words she uses the rhetoric made up of Pathos, Logos, and Ethos.
All of these questions and more are answered, or contemplated, throughout a series of twelve episodes that dive straight into the facts, the evidence, and the holes in each suspect 's
Bryson Esplin Mr. Johansen ENG 101 1 February 2023 Rhetorical Analysis of Julie Petersen’s “Analysis Essay: Is Macbeth A Tragic Hero?” One true problem with writing posted to the internet is the inability to prove what, if anything, is true or credible. With common phrases such as “Don’t believe everything you read” and “Fake news,” it has become more important than ever to know what articles are reliable. One example of a source that claims to be trustworthy but is questionable at best is the website AskPetersen.com. Julie Petersen, who runs the website, claims to have everything to help readers “write a perfect essay” (Petersen, “Blog”).
The audience also knows how much time Koenig has spent looking into this case and for her to still be questioning it makes it hard to believe that the court made a decision in such a short amount of time, supporting the theory that bias played a factor. “I see many problems with the state's case. But I also see many problems with Adnan’s story too.” This antithesis explains how there simply were just too many holes in both sides of the case to make an accurate conviction (Koenig 150). These gray areas within the case are the sole reasons why nobody can confidently say who did it, making it very unlikely that the court's decision was made strictly from evidence.
”(Koening #1). Asia was also able to state that they were talking for an average of 15 to 20 minutes, but her boyfriend also states that he saw Adnan in the library from 2:15 to 3:00. Since Adnan was at the library that proves that he could not have killed Hae and that Jay is lying again about his story. This evidence changed that whole case and makes Jay seem less reliable to the cops and the state. If Adnan had discovered this valuable information earlier it would have given him the alibi