‘Serial’ Responds to Kevin Urick And ‘The Intercept’

The first season of Serial may have ended, but the drama around the popular podcast has most certainly not.

On Wednesday The Intercept published an interview with Kevin Urick, the lead prosecutor in the case against Adnan Syed, a case made famous by Serial. During his interview, Urick denied he had been contacted repeatedly by Serial host Sarah Koenig and the podcast’s producers. He claimed he was only contacted once, on Dec. 12. The people behind Serial vehemently disagreed, and on Thursday they took to Twitter to emphasize their version of events.

In the Urick article, The Intercept published a short statement from executive producer Julie Snyder, who said, “We reached out to Kevin Urick multiple times, at multiple locations, during the winter of 2014, about nine months before the podcast began airing. Urick did not respond to any of those interview requests.” In the body of the article, the reporters went as far as calling Koenig’s efforts to contact Urick “underwhelming” and said it was “the most troubling part” of Serial.

Serial responded by posting the full statement Snyder sent to The Intercept, along with details on how Koenig attempted to contact Urick multiple times. The statement provides background on other people the producers contacted as well, including co-prosecutor Kathleen Murphy and Jay Wilds‘ lawyer Esther Anne Benaroya.

[1/4] If you’re curious, here’s the full statement we sent in response to an inquiry from The Intercept on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/sRiImoiIlq

— Serial (@serial) January 8, 2015

[2/4] Koenig left numerous messages for Urick, starting last winter and into the spring, many months before the podcast started airing.

— Serial (@serial) January 8, 2015

[3/4] Koenig left multiple messages at Urick’s private law office, at the Cecil County prosecutor’s office, and with a recent law partner.

— Serial (@serial) January 8, 2015

[4/4] We are committed to reporting that’s comprehensive, fair, and exhaustively fact-checked.

— Serial (@serial) January 8, 2015

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