In a way, this short post is not about Kenneth Bae and he horrors he endured doing hard labor in North Korea.
In a way, this short post is also not about his book on that topic.
I reality, this short post is about CNN and the attitude that someone in the editorial process there has toward the Bae book and (trigger warning: The following language may offend some readers) its religious content.
As a faithful GetReligion reader put it in an email about this particular CNN report, "Kenneth Bae: '735 days in North Korea was long enough' ":
Check out the second-to-the-last graph and see if you don't find yourself tempted to find the nearest brick wall against which you can bang your head.
But first some context, for those who are not following this story (which will soon be the subject of an Ira Rifkin "Global Wire" post:
(CNN) Kenneth Bae spent almost two years performing grueling work for the North Korean regime -- and had another decade of hard labor ahead of him.
But he's no longer shoveling coal and hauling rocks. Instead, the American sat down with CNN's Chris Cuomo ... for his first live interview since his 2014 release.
"I'm thankful every day and grateful for so many people that were involved in trying to get me home," Bae said. "It's unreal just to see that I'm actually sitting in the studio talking to you ... 735 days in North Korea was long enough. But I'm thankful."
Bae was the longest-held U.S. citizen detained in North Korea since the Korean War. In 2013, he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for committing unspecified "hostile acts" in the country.
So what happens at the end of this CNN report that our faithful reader found so interesting?
Well, there is a kind of journalistic warning sign in the text, one that seems to signal a certain worried attitude about Christian publishing and Christian messages:
... Bae thanked the U.S. and North Korean governments and did not speak publicly again until this March, when he promoted his book, "Not Forgotten."
The memoir, which will be released ... by HarperCollins' Christian-themed division, will likely have strong religious undertones.
"One thing I want people to take away from reading the book is God's faithfulness," Bae said. "After I was released, I was reminded that God has not forgotten the people of North Korea."
You gotta love that deft "will likely" touch.
But, thinking journalistically, this raises an interesting question: If faith plays a major role in the Bae story when Bae tells it, might there have been faith issues worthy of coverage by CNN, if the goal was to discuss the most crucial angles of the Bae case?
Brick. Wall. Head. Bang.