Excerpt:"Hip-hop aside, killing pinpoints deeper cloud over young
He's the star of a recently released movie named for Atlanta, has one of the hottest-selling albums in the country and was born and raised in this city. Despite what you think of rapper T.I.'s art form or lifestyle, his actions are worthy of prominent news coverage.
Not so, said several readers I heard from this week. To them, T.I. is just another young thug who's a poor role model. His antics aren't news and stories about him have no place in the newspaper, much less on a Sunday front page, they argue.
"The AJC has played this up like he is a national leader," said Sandra Butler of Atlanta. "I'm sorry the man got killed, but look who he was and who he hung out with. How come this gets so much play?"
In the same day's newspaper, Butler said, she had to dig deep into the newspaper to learn what her congressman had to say about illegal immigration. She believes the newspaper spends too much time covering entertainers and musicians. Such complaints aren't new to Sonia Murray, who has covered pop music for the AJC for more than 10 years. Hip-hop is a billion-dollar industry with a large contingent of artists and producers who call Atlanta home. To ignore the industry and its impact would be a huge mistake for this newspaper.