Earlier today we reported on the outrage voiced by many Americans with Rolling Stone’s decision to put suspected Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, on the cover of the August issue. Since then Rolling Stone Magazine has issued a statement defending its decision.
The picture on the cover (shown on the right) from Tsarnaev’s Twitter account, and it has been used by other publication’s covers in the past. Though Rolling Stone’s cover has caused quite a stir on Twitter and Facebook, it even has New England based businesses like CVS pharmacies and Tedeschi Food Shops refusing to sell the issue. Tedeschi firm said on its Facebook page, “Music and terrorism don’t mix!”
In a response to fallout with readers, the magazine issued a statement saying: “Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone’s long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day. The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens.”
The words “serious and thoughtful coverage” is not what most people are saying about the magazine’s decision to use the photo. In fact, many people are asking for a boycott of the magazine all together, uniting under #boycottrolingstone. Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured that day, the older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed four days later in a shootout with police. Dzhokhar, was captured and charged with 30 federal counts and has plead not guilty.
