Rolling Stone raised quite a stir this week in Boston and across the rest of the country.
The magazine, viewed by many as a beacon for innovative journalism and writing since its inception in 1967, faced an incredible backlash for its controversial decision to place Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover of the August issue. Tsarnaev is one of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers, who is facing 30 charges related to his alleged involvement of the bombings. On April 15, two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in downtown Boston, killing three and injuring more than 160 people.
Several grocery stores and convenience stores in the Boston area have already said that they will not sell this issue of the magazine.
Rolling Stone hasn’t yet addressed the controversy and negative feedback directly, but the magazine did post an editors’ note ahead of the online version of the story.
“Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families,” the statement read. “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.”
See the controversial cover below.
Photo via Facebook/Rolling Stone
