Boston Bomber on Cover of Rolling Stone

[Carl]

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is on the cover of the latest issue of Rolling Stone.

For the last few years, this magazine has been publishing groundbreaking stories on climate change, the global financial crisis, and other crucially important topics, but promoting these stories in a blurb on the cover next to a picture of someone like Justin Bieber.

It seems they've finally decided to give their news reporting the respect it deserves. They could have put Ke$ha on the cover and let only their regular readers find the Tsarnaev story, but that would have limited the reach.

This is a very legitimate news story with a newsworthy subject on the cover. Rolling Stone has always put entertainers on their covers, which is why this is so incongruent, but it's the right call. Finding out why this guy became a monster is more important than whatever Katy Perry is up to.

[pinkstones]

I love all the rage crying going on because the picture isn't suitably frightening enough, given the enormity of the crimes he is charged with committing. The whole point of using that particular picture is to demonstrate how a young, popular American teenager got sucked in by his older brother's dangerous and demented ideas. The fact he's the same age as the magazine's target demographic also explains it.

People soiling their knickers over the fact they didn't use a photo of him from when he was hospitalized need to start breathing into a paper bag and calm the hell down. This isn't glamorizing him or what he did, it's demonstrating that murderers come in all forms, even teenage boys.

[RonJonSurfer]

There's no such thing as bad publicity and there's nothing better than free publicity. I would not have thought about Rolling Stone magazine at all this month (or for many months gone by) if this little firestorm hadn't occurred. So in one fell swoop millions of people thought about Rolling Stone this month.

My opinion on the subject does not matter either...it became newsworthy, got plastered all over every type of newscast and got us thinking about Rolling Stone again.

I for one would have rather seen a cover photo of Katy Perry, but that has nothing to do with being newsworthy.

[miamisammy29]

I threw that issue away without even opening it, and I am cancelling my subscription.

[TheLizard]

I think it's brilliant, for the reasons Beth already pointed out. If the same picture was on the front of Time nobody would care. It already was on the cover of the New York Times. But since it's on a "music magazine", everybody is freaking out.

[miamisammy29]

I'm sorry...you're wrong!

For 40 years (or so), Rolling Stone has had pictures of rock stars on the cover. They are treating this kid just like a rock star, when, in reality, he is an absolute f***ing scumbag!

It was an attempt to sell more magazines, but it totally backfired on them. Good!

[Ken]

Isn't that the muzlim fellow that emigrated to the US, was embraced by it's citizens, lived a better life than he did prior, and to show his appreciation set off a couple of bombs while people were committing the crime of running a race and killed a kid in the process? Good cover subject. RS has been in decline for years, that one sticks the last nail in the coffin for me. I don't really care what his story is or was. Reading it would be about as interesting as inspecting used toilet paper.

[TheLizard]

I'm sorry...you're wrong!

For 40 years (or so), Rolling Stone has had pictures of rock stars on the cover.

[TheLizard]

Isn't that the muzlim fellow that emigrated to the US, was embraced by it's citizens, lived a better life than he did prior, and to show his appreciation set off a couple of bombs while people were committing the crime of running a race and killed a kid in the process? Good cover subject. RS has been in decline for years, that one sticks the last nail in the coffin for me. I don't really care what his story is or was. Reading it would be about as interesting as inspecting used toilet paper.

The whole point of the story is to show exactly how this kid was warped by fundamentalism into a monster.

[Ken]

I guess everyone has an opinion. Me too. I don't much care about what warped this kid, I've had things in life I didn't like happening to me, but when things happen to most people they don't respond by setting off bombs. Were it my son that was killed, I'd be angry if his face was on a magazine. Empathy, Brother Tim.

[TheLizard]

I think he was an evil person. Obviously. But most people don't start out evil, they become evil. I'm interested in how that happens. Not because I think it's "cool" or whatever, but because I think it's horrifying and maybe the more we know, the more we can prevent this sort of thing from happening again.

[pinkstones]

Empathy doesn't include turning a blind eye to the things that cause destruction in our country. You can feel bad for the victims and their families whilst also wanting to know why this kid got his head so screwed up. It's not an either/or proposition.

Also, what Time Magazine did to OJ Simpson in 1994 is about a bajillion times worse than this. That was so racially inflammatory, it was offensive to ME, and I'm white.

[Shawna]

Explaining the Rolling Stone Cover, by a Boston Native By Matt Taibbi

[TheLizard]

Matt Taibbi is always right.

[edna]

Yes, Rolling Stone is no longer a music magazine...

[pinkstones]

Rolling Stone wasn't never "just" a music magazine. It always carried a lot of articles about social and political commentary, even from the very start. I mean, we're talking about a magazine that once employed Hunter S Thompson.

This is hardly groundbreaking territory.

[edna]

In my times, if you wanted to know about music you had to read RSM...

Rolling Stone is a magazine published every two weeks that focuses on politics and popular culture. In 1967, Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco, California, by Jann Wenner – who is still the magazine's chief editor – and music critic, Ralph J. Gleason.

Rolling Stone was known for its musical coverage and for political reporting by the enigmatic and controversial gonzo journalist, Hunter S. Thompson.

In the 1990s, the magazine changed its format to appeal to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors, and popular music. This led to criticism that the magazine was emphasizing style over substance.

In recent years, the magazine has resumed its traditional mix of content, including in-depth political stories. It also has expanded content to include acclaimed coverage of financial and banking issues. As a result, the magazine has seen its circulation increase and its reporters invited as experts to network television programs of note.

[edna]

"...Rolling Stone magazine, named after the Muddy Waters song "Rollin' Stone" (1950), was initially identified with and reported on the hippie counterculture of the era...In the very first edition of the magazine, Wenner wrote that Rolling Stone "is not just about the music, but about the things and attitudes that music embraces."

[RockyRaccoon]

This whole thing is just crazy. They call him a monster right there on the cover of the magazine. The headline didn't say "Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Our Hero", it was about how this kid became what he became. This is quite literally judging a book (or in this case, a magazine) by it's cover. Read the article. Then judge.

Honestly, if you're an American and you already know how to pronounce Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and were able to recognize his photo, Rolling Stone had little to do with making him famous.

[Shawna]

the article itself is very insightful, and very sad, actually. Not just due to the obvious horror of the events he was responsible for, but also because of the horror of the events that took place that caused him to be someone who would be responsible for such horrific events.

[miamisammy29]

I had no problem with them publishing an article, but the kid shouldn't have been on the cover. That should be reserved for rock stars....the people who have earned it!

And Charles Manson is more of a cartoon character than anything else.

[RonJonSurfer]

Now you know why I always stuck with:

How come I get a little red "X" where my Creem Magazine cover was a few days ago. I think Rolling Stone is behind this....who knows, maybe THE Rolling Stones are behind this...

[edna]

I had no problem with them publishing an article, but the kid shouldn't have been on the cover. That should be reserved for rock stars....the people who have earned it!

And Charles Manson is more of a cartoon character than anything else.

Go, go, go Sammy go, go, go...