True Crime has grown in popularity in recent years due to several popular podcasts on the genre. In fact, according to the latest rankings from Podtrac, true crime podcasts account for five of the top 20 shows in the medium. However, true crime remains steady in television, too, with NewsNation host Ashleigh Banfield being one of the genre’s leaders.
Banfield began her stint at NewsNation in January 2021. After nearly two years hosting her self-titled program on the upstart cable news outlet, she shifted away from the traditional cable news show model and instead turned her focus to her true passion: true crime.
The results show the decision was a wise one. According to Nielsen, Banfield ratings have risen 250% in the 25-54 demographic and is up more than 400% in total viewers since its debut.
While some might suggest deciding to completely change your show’s format is a gigantic leap of faith, Ashleigh Banfield never saw it that way.
“It wasn’t difficult for me at all,” Banfield told Barrett News Media. “I have such a long and rich history working in this space. I’ve spent five years at Court TV. I did a crime and justice show on HLN and I did a show on CNN. So for the last 19 years, I’ve only exclusively been focused on on this kind of journalism. It was a no-brainer for me to focus exclusively on law, justice, and true crime at 10 PM on NewsNation. It’s where I am most knowledgeable.”
She added that working alongside Yale Law School Professor Jack Ford while at Court TV gave her an incredible insight into the legal space while joking that despite all she learned from Ford, she wouldn’t be able to pass the bar exam due to her “terrible memory.”
However, that memory does hold some of the negatives that come with spending the majority of your professional career covering the true crime genre.
“I still have a really tough time with autopsy photos and crime scene evidence. It’s sanitized for the viewers, but it’s not sanitized for our staff and our teams,” admitted Banfield. “There was a case just two weeks ago that really set me off and I had to take a moment and gather my wits. It was the case of a 34-year-old woman who was an autistic woman who was neglected by her own parents, and was left to atrophy and literally rot to death on a sofa. The responding medical professionals who answered the 911 call, were so shocked and horrified by what they encountered, they had to step outside themselves. Those autopsy photos will stick with me forever.”
The popularity of the true crime genre has coincided with the rise of Banfield’s ratings at NewsNation. She recently struck a multi-year extension to remain with the cable outlet, and said she’s encouraged by the growth of her program.
“I have carved out this magical little space at 10 PM Eastern on NewsNation and we’ve really honed in on true crime and have built a very loyal audience in this space. It is extremely popular right now,” she said. “I’m just seeing how connected people are now to this particular kind of coverage. I have a great little team and we are very focused on the work that we do, the product that we create every day, and so it’ll be great to be able to continue that project.”
When asked what makes the true crime space so different from other cable news programs, Ashleigh Banfield shined a light on the thought process of so many fans of the genre.
“I think, honestly, people have been able to become a part of the crime sleuth community. Now with the advent of all of these groups on the internet, people are very engaged in helping solve these crimes. And they many times are successful,” she said, while noting there’s a downside with irresponsible people that have incorrectly identified the wrong people while investigating crimes.
She continued by saying true crime fans feel a deeper connection to the subject matter.
“I think people have really felt like they can have they can make a difference. They can help solve these crimes. In another sense, I think people are gripped by movie mysteries on the big screen and then walk out of the theater and realize it’s happening all around us. These things are real and, oftentimes, the true details are more gripping than the drama.”
In addition to her primetime program on NewsNation, Ashleigh Banfield has added a new program on The CW called Crime Nation, which airs Tuesdays at 8 PM ET. She called the program a “natural progression” of her cable show.
“We do the headlines on many of these stories every night. But after many years pass, people forget a lot of details,” she said. “And new information tends to emerge from people involved in these stories. They tend to loosen up and say things they’ve ever said before when you return to the big stories and start putting them all together as one long and comprehensive narrative. And that’s what we’ve discovered. The stories that we’re doing for Crime Nation is that we have found new, exclusive information people who’ve never spoken before are speaking out and dropping some pretty jaw-dropping details on these crimes.”
It would be easy to think covering true crime — which often involves the worst day of someone’s life — would be a constant downer. However, Ashleigh Banfield shared there can also be a positive side to the coverage she’s devoted her professional career to.
“I’m able to give (family members of victims) guidance and connect them to other crime victims’ family members in high-profile crimes, and that’s been very helpful,” she said. “Connecting some of these people makes them realize they’re all alone. It helps them a little bit with the guidebook of how to navigate the circumstances they found themselves in. And I’m always very thankful that I can play a role in any way.
“It’s not always welcomed, and I don’t offer it was welcomed,” she concluded. “I think anything that can help to minimize the suffering and the confusion that these victims’ families go through, if I can provide a small part of that, I’m happy to do that.”
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
