Who the f-ck is Kodi Maybir?!
Both the Fairfax papers and ABC have had the story of this guy as one of their top stories, which is fine, except that EVERY time they mention him, there's three (or four) words prefixing or post-fixing his name: Christian hip hop artist or Christian music producer
I thought I knew sh!t about the hip-hop scene, but apparently not, cuz I have never heard of this guy. So, two questions: is he famously Christian and is he famously a hip-hop artist/producer 'cuz if I go by the headlines, I might be inclined to think this is the ABC and Fairfax doing their little atheist dance on a child's grave.
So, on ABC 8 Oct 2015, 2:33pm
>Kodi Maybir trial: Man who initially blamed pogo stick fall for boy's death admits he lied
>A hip-hop artist initially blamed a pogo stick fall for the death of his girlfriend's son in Sydney's south, but later admitted this was false, a court has heard.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-08/kodi-maybir-accused-of-killing-boy-admits-lying-about-death/6836908
So, he's a hip-hop artist, although there's no mention of that in the story, but we'll assume it's the same as saying "truck driver", his job, but there's no mention of his being a Christian.
And then Stephanie Boulet, whoever she is, takes over the reporting four days later from ABC's court reporter, Karl Hoerr, as follows:
>Christian music producer accused of killing girlfriend's son subjected him to a 'Spartan regime', court hears
>A Christian music producer subjected his girlfriend's son to a "Spartan-like regime" in the months leading up to his death which…
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-07/christian-music-producer-subjected-boy-spartan-regime-court/6835224
Now, I am not one for leaping up-n-down whenever the news reports on Christians misbehaving, but, I kid you not, those are the only two times the word "Christian" appear in the article. There is no justification for using this term, no explanation as to what makes him a "Christian", no mention of his church, his pastor, priest… nothing… just the headline.
And having set the tone, today, the court reporter is back using the same adjectives without justification:
>Kodi Maybir, Christian hip hop artist, sentenced to 31 years' jail for murdering girlfriend's 7yo son
>A Christian hip hop artist who systematically abused and then killed his girlfriend's seven-year-old son has been sentenced to at least 31 years and six months in jail.
Once again, those are the only two times the word "Christian" appear in the article.
See, I can look around the internet and find out from VICE that he was in hip-hop, and they spend three paragraphs before the word "Christian" appears, and pretty contextually, too:
>This verdict has come as a weird twist to Maybir’s non-illustrious career as a Christian hip-hop artist.
Agreed. And then, in the NINTH paragraph they back-up their claim:
>Many of Maybir’s songs have a religious focus and mention his faith in God and Jesus. He sings about his skills and love of rap, and intersperses stories from his life with philosophical insights.
See, that's what I call journalism, actually bothering to justify your claims with evidence. Not Fairfax or the ABC. They're too busy making sure the word "Christian" is as CLOSE to the word "murder" or "accused" to be bothered actually explaining why they use that adjective.
See, 'cuz even the artist himself doesn't call himself a Christian:
>General Kopri has survived the rugged journey called the Sydney Rap/Hip Hop scene for the past 11 years after his solo album release in 2010 the renegade has returned but this time the General Kopri means business! With a fresh new look and still armed with his SWAT jacket, this exaggerated entertainer will have you wanting more and replaying his videos over and over.. For the past 3 years the General has been locked away preparing his second album here he is with his first hit single of the year Brighter Than The Brightest Day inspired by his ex wife who had an affair, Kopri got himself together and came back on fire."
But, his music is pretty clear:
https://youtu.be/tJhe33aChwc?t=55s
I'm not asking for the world, but couldn't the ABC/Fairfax have just included that paragraph in their reporting? They spent all day at court, so couldn't they have at least MENTIONED something about his Christianness rather than make me seriously scratch my head and want to start accusing them of bias, before half-an-hour's research on the interwebz solves my annoyance. Could they not have saved me that half-hour? I'm no shrill opponent of their liberalism, not one to vociferously accuse them of anti-religious bias, but they made me want to for a moment because they dropped one word twice into an article without ever bothering to explain why.