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Magazine Controversy

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Submitted By ayuski562
Words 1506
Pages 7
Alicia Yuski
English 1302.711
Professor Kezia Ruiz
18 October 2014
Cover Link: http://static.parade.condenast.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/rolling-stone-the-bomber-ftr.jpg
Terrorist’s a Visual Reality Magazine covers have always been known to push the limit. It’s a fantastic marketing ploy to grab the attention of consumers. Think about it, you are walking down an aisle or standing in line at the market to check out, what is going to stand out more to you and easily grab your attention? Is it going to be a magazine cover with a modestly dressed man or women? Or perhaps a magazine cover with a provocative Miley Cyrus or a cover with an extremely, well known very hated face for example? The more absurd or obscene the image the faster and more likely it is going to grab our attention. The Rolling Stone magazine cover did just that when their August 1, 2013 issue was released headlining the Boston bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. There are numerous reasons why the majority of Americans were enraged by the cover choice the Rolling Stone’s made, but I’m not one of them. To be in the entertainment industry and land the cover of the Rolling Stone magazine is an honor. “It goes without saying that if you are featured under those two journalistically iconic words, than you have made it” (International Business, Times. “Rolling Stone Cover Sparks.”). The band Dr. Hooks even wrote a song about wanting to be on the cover of the Rolling Stone; “But the thrill we’ve never known, is the thrill that’ll getcha when you get your picture, on the cover of the Rollin’ Stone” (Silverstein).
However, the Rolling Stone magazine isn’t just for stars in the entertainment industry. The magazine also covers “what is popular in… media and culture…” (International Business, Times. “Rolling Stone Cover”). With that being said, the magazine isn’t dedicated to just dedicated to display “glamourized” (International Business, Times. “Rolling Stones.”) photos of people or things on the cover. The magazine is also there to provide information on current events to their readers. The choice to put the image of an everyday looking young man, but yet is actually a terrorist who has committed a deliberate crime against Americans in Boston on April 15, 2013, plastered on the front page of a prestigious magazine with large, black, bold letters “The Bomber: How a popular, promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical Islam and became a monster,” created an uproar of emotions. To say that the majority of people aware of this particular cover were offended and outraged would be an understatement. Most people took the magazine’s decision to use a photo of the bomber looking like a normal “almost angelic [being] with a warming gaze into the camera’s lens” (International Business, Times. “Boston Bomber.”) as an insult; a total smack in the face. “Boston Mayor Thomas Menino [went as far as to accuse] the magazine of rewarding “a terrorist with celebrity treatment” (International Business, Times. “Rolling Stone’s.”). To show the magazine how outraged the people were and to prove a point, especially in the New England area surrounding Boston where the attack occurred, “at least five retailers from the New England area would not sell Rolling Stone magazine” (International Business, Times. “At”), three major ones being CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. For those retailers to forbid the sale of Rolling Stone is a big statement to say the least. Not only did it hurt the sales of the magazine, but also it provided the public with more reason to feel justified in their feelings of offense.
I’m sure many were wondering, “Why not a picture of him in an orange jumpsuit? Why not an article about the victims and… how people were destroyed that day” (Claiborne)? While these are justifiable questions to be had, the backlash against Rolling Stone was too quick to assume the worst. Massachusetts State Police photographer Sgt. Sean Murphy was the sole photographer appointed to put on record the manhunt for Tsarnaev the day he was apprehended (International Business, Times. “Boston Bomber: Never”). Murphy is just one of the many who believe that the magazine’s photo choice was glamorizing the terrorist. Only a handful of the pictures Murphy took that day have been made public and Murphy states that his “goal in sharing them is to let people see “the real Boston bomber, not someone fluffed and buffed for the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine” (International Business, Times. “Boston Bomber: Never”).
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but assumptions shouldn’t be so hastily made and acted upon before fully trying to understand the point that is trying to be made. The Rolling Stone magazine wasn’t trying to “glamorize” or make a star out of the Boston bomber with their choice of photograph for the cover story of that August 2013 issue. The magazine was actually trying to show its readers that a terrorist isn’t always going to look like a simple terrorist. That in fact, a terrorist can look just like your best friend, cousin, or son. In my opinion, the magazine made a good decision in choosing this particular photo as it’s cover. It makes it a reality that a terrorist can be that handsome boy-next-door “teen heartthrob” (International Business, Times. “Rolling Stones”), and not just some scary looking terrorist. The article itself within the magazine was thought out and a lot of time and effort was put into compiling the story, two months to be exact (International Business, Times. “Rolling Stone Cover Sparks”). Journalist Janet Reitman gave insight with this article about the bomber and what lead such a “popular, promising student… [to fall] into radical Islam…, [how] a charming kid with a bright future became a monster” (International Business, Times. “Rolling Stone Cover Sparks”).
In fact, the magazine was doing it’s job and reporting and trying to give an understanding to what was currently popular in the media. It has also been counter argued that the magazine didn’t do anything unjustly. Kevin Z. Smith, of the Society of Professional Journalist’s Code of Ethics, states that when he first saw the cover he thought two things (International Business, Times. “Rolling Stone Boston”). “One, this seems to be keeping with Rolling Stone’s persona, and two, I’m old enough to remember Charles Manson being on the cover. So, this isn’t the first time they’ve tread on sacred ground…” (International Business, Times. “Rolling Stone Boston”). Katy Culver, associate director of the Center for Journalism Ethics, brings up a good point regarding how the magazine chose to release the cover. Culver “believes the magazine could have minimized the backlash by posting the image and the story simultaneously, thereby presenting the cover in the context of Reitman’s in-depth reporting, which wasn’t online until the following day” (International Business, Times. “Rolling Stone Boston”).
In essence, maybe this indignation and repercussion of releasing the image separate from the story could have been avoided. In all, people are very defensive, easily offended, and too quick to jump to conclusions. At the end of it all, the Rolling Stone magazine was doing their job in reporting real news in the real essence of reality around all of us. I believe them to have been empowering the public with the raw knowledge and views of what and who a terrorist can actually be.

Works Cited
Claiborne, Ron. "Rolling Stone Under Fire." Good Morning America (ABC) (2013): 1. Regional Business News. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
International Business Times 18 July 2013: Regional Business News. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
International Business, Times. "At Least 5 New England Retailers Won’t Sell Rolling Stone Over Boston Bomber Cover." International Business Times 18 July 2013: Regional Business News. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. International Business, Times. "Boston Bomber Posed Like Rock God? The Rolling Stone Cover That Has Sparked Fury [VIDEO]." International Business Times 18 July 2013: Regional Business News. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
International Business, Times. "Boston Bomber: Never Before Seen Photos Of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's Capture Released By Police Photographer Angered Over Rolling Stone Cover [PHOTOS]." International Business Times 18 July 2013: Regional Business News. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
International Business, Times. "Rolling Stone Boston Bomber Cover: Was The Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Glamour Shot Unethical Or Just In Poor Taste?." International Business Times 18 July 2013: Regional Business News. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
International Business, Times. "Rolling Stone Cover Sparks #BoycottRollingStone After Alleged Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Is Featured." International Business Times 17 July 2013: Regional Business News. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
International Business, Times. "Rolling Stone's Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Cover: the Boston Bomber Suspect and Other ‘Controversial’ Front Pages [Slideshow]." International Business Times 18 July 2013: Regional Business News. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
International Business, Times. "Rolling Stones Defends Boston Marathon Bomber Cover; Retailers Join Boycott of Magazine (Videos)." International Business Times 17 July 2013: Regional Business News. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. Silverstein, Shel. ""The Cover Of The Rolling Stone" Lyrics." Dr. Hook Lyrics. AZLyrics.com, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.

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