Fury at 'rock star bomb suspect' cover
Source: Agencies |
July 19, 2013, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A Rolling Stone story on Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev published today has led to fury among critics who say the cover photograph glamorizes an accused killer, while some retailers say they will not carry the issue.
The photo of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev looks more like a young Bob Dylan or Jim Morrison than the 19-year-old who pleaded not guilty last week.
The same image of Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen who came to the US as a child, was widely used before, but the music magazine is criticized for making Tsarnaev look like a rock star.
"I can't think of another instance in which one has glamorized the image of an alleged terrorist. This is the image of a rock star. This is the image of someone who is admired, of someone who has a fan base," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
Five retailers with strong New England ties said they would not sell the issue, featuring an in-depth look at Tsarnaev's life.
A brief Rolling Stone statement offered condolences to bombing survivors and the loved ones of the dead. Three people were killed in the bombing, and dozens were wounded.
It's little consolation for James "Bim" Costello, 30, who needed pig skin grafts on his right arm and right leg. Three of his close friends lost legs that day.
"Whoever wrote the article should have their legs blown off by someone," struggle through treatment "and then see who they would choose to put on the cover," Costello said.
Rolling Stone said the story was part of its "long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important ... issues of our day."
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino wrote to Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner calling the cover "ill-conceived, at best," in supporting the "terrible message that destruction gains fame for killers and their 'causes.'"
The photo of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev looks more like a young Bob Dylan or Jim Morrison than the 19-year-old who pleaded not guilty last week.
The same image of Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen who came to the US as a child, was widely used before, but the music magazine is criticized for making Tsarnaev look like a rock star.
"I can't think of another instance in which one has glamorized the image of an alleged terrorist. This is the image of a rock star. This is the image of someone who is admired, of someone who has a fan base," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
Five retailers with strong New England ties said they would not sell the issue, featuring an in-depth look at Tsarnaev's life.
A brief Rolling Stone statement offered condolences to bombing survivors and the loved ones of the dead. Three people were killed in the bombing, and dozens were wounded.
It's little consolation for James "Bim" Costello, 30, who needed pig skin grafts on his right arm and right leg. Three of his close friends lost legs that day.
"Whoever wrote the article should have their legs blown off by someone," struggle through treatment "and then see who they would choose to put on the cover," Costello said.
Rolling Stone said the story was part of its "long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important ... issues of our day."
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino wrote to Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner calling the cover "ill-conceived, at best," in supporting the "terrible message that destruction gains fame for killers and their 'causes.'"
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