Does 9-Year-Old ‘Poopy’ Rapper Deserve To Be Covered?
A kid rapper from Massachusetts who goes by the stage name “Lil Poopy” has sparked a backlash for a series of rap videos that feature objectionable “adult content,” CNN reports. The videos include Poopy slapping a woman’s rear end, flaunting stacks of money, rolling in “the backseat” of a Ferrari, and feature lyrics such as “Coke ain’t a bad word.”
The public outrage has evolved into a full-fledged child welfare investigation into whether the rapper has been exploited and if his parents are involved in criminal activity.
As shocking as the story presents itself, some basic journalistic digging raises new questions. Is Lil Poopy really rapping about cocaine? And is this even a story worth covering?
A second glance at Lil Poopy’s lyrics may prove that this is much ado about nothing. Poopy rhymes, “Coke ain’t a bad word, it’s only soda,” while dancing with what appears to be a half-empty cup of a soft drink.
Could the song be taken out of context? It appears so, and as a result, the story is not being fully reported.
There is no mention of the full lyric in CNN’s story, which is a major irony. CNN is headquartered in Atlanta, which happens to be the same city where Coca-Cola is based. You would think CNN, of all networks, would have the wherewithal to make the Coke-soda connection.
Other news organizations picked up the story on Tuesday, including The Daily Beast. But is it worth covering? What is the real news here?
If you read the entire CNN article, the news is in the last paragraph:
[A police lieutenant] said Monday that no court orders are in place and no criminal charges have been filed.
There are no charges filed. No pending court orders. Just an investigation into a 9 year-old’s music career. This is a classic example of what we in journalism like to call “burying the lede.”
The way this story is presented to the public is sensationalism at its finest. Perhaps there will be news down the road, if investigators discover alleged incidents of criminal activity. But there is no news now.
The reality is that this is type of soft news that CNN is disseminating to its audience these days, especially after it hired former Today Show executive producer and NBC chief Jeff Zucker to be its president. Lest we forget, this is the same network that spent 758 minutes covering the Carnival cruise ship that was stranded at sea two weeks ago.
The winner in this coverage is Lil Poopy. Bad news is still good news, because it all helps promote his brand. The loser: the media. Media continue to fall for these type of non-stories to bide its time until real news happens. Audiences can only take so much droning on about the impending sequester, so why not cover a kid rapper who is spouting off about coke. Even if it’s only soda.
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