It seems magazines have run out of rock stars to put on their covers

[westen44]

What's next for Rolling Stone magazine?  Pictures of Hitler's pets that he was fond of?  Oh, I've already brought in Godwin's Law. 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/17/studentnews/tsarnaev-rolling-stone-cover/index.html

[Psycho Bass Guy]

It seems that they've decided that since they have zero musical or cultural relevance, they're going to play the Roger Ailes card, too.

[Dave W]

Didn't RS once put Charles Manson on the cover?

[gweimer]

Didn't RS once put Charles Manson on the cover?

And he had a Beach Boy connection.

[4stringer77]

My conspiracy loving buddy is convinced Michael Hastings was murdered when his car exploded because he was about to put out a piece that proved the Tsarnaev bros were controlled by the CIA. Not saying I completely believe that but to each their own.

[lowend1]

Didn't RS once put Charles Manson on the cover?

Yeah, but the tag lines are WAY different.

[Dave W]

Will next issue's cover boy be Whitey Bulger?

Sometime in the distant future, RS will be doing a 50 Best Mass Murderer Covers list.

[gweimer]

Will next issue's cover boy be Whitey Bulger?

Sometime in the distant future, RS will be doing a 50 Best Mass Murderer Covers list.

With Marilyn Manson on the cover?

[Highlander]

... doing a 50 Best Mass Murderer Covers list.

Sadly, it'll sell... put it out today and it'll sell...

[Dave W]

Sadly, it'll sell... put it out today and it'll sell...

Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public. -- H. L. Mencken

[dadagoboi]

RS has been doing investigative journalism since it began.  Their music coverage sucks but in case you haven't noticed, so does most music these days.  IMO Matt Taibi, for one, does some great work.  That picture was on the front page of the NYT above the fold a while back with no complaints.  From what I understand this article attempts to explain what went wrong with this kid and how it happened.  WTF is wrong with that?  Why does the average American seem to have no interest in understanding how and why events occur and would rather whine about hurting the feelings of victims or glorifying this or that?

Don't like it?  Don't read it.  My sister bought me a subscription a few years ago.  I cancelled it because of the music/lifestyle coverage not because of the journalism.  I can still read that stuff online for free.

[Dave W]

True enough, they've done some great investigative journalism over the years, IMHO it's the magazine's one redeeming quality. And they have the right to publish what they want. Still, there's nothing wrong with criticizing the cover or the story.

Or parodying it.

[gweimer]

RS has been doing investigative journalism since it began. 

That was never their selling point, though, and I think that's why the debate.  They were more about music and lifestyle.  I remember reading the first publishing of Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas, as a two part serial in RS, before it became a book.

[westen44]

Ty Burr of the Boston Globe writes that the story itself is legitimate, but the cover shot is not.  The cover shot was put there to sell magazines and all other considerations were ignored.  It's a matter of nuances and choices.  From what I've read so far, Rolling Stone, of course, is now using its BS rationalization to justify what it did.  Ty Burr in his article says this---

By putting this Tsarnaev on the cover, Rolling Stone at best plays with and at worst buys into the accused's own manufactured image, casual but potent, speaking in a language we all understand. Worse, by placing his selfie within the context of a magazine cover, a format regularly used to sell rock stars, movie icons, and models, the editors have collaborated with Tsarnaev in the creation of his own celebrity.

[westen44]

True enough, they've done some great investigative journalism over the years, IMHO it's the magazine's one redeeming quality. And they have the right to publish what they want. Still, there's nothing wrong with criticizing the cover or the story.

Or parodying it.

And it's parodies like this which are really the most potent form of criticism.