Speak Out: Did Rolling Stone Go Too Far?

By Kirsten Petersen

The face of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been splashed across newspapers and television screens since he was identified as a conspirator in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Now a self-portrait, pulled from the Tsarnaev’s Twitter account, is stirring up controversy as Rolling Stone magazine’s newest cover photo.

Commenters on the magazine’s Facebook page call it a “glamour shot” that makes Tsarnaev look like the latest pop star or punk rocker. Boston Globe columnist Ty Burr called the choice “an act of irresponsibility.” Patch blogger Frank Zabierek urged readers to boycott Rolling Stone advertisers and retailers.

Several stores, including CVS and Walgreens, have boycotted the August 3 issue of the magazine. The full article, titled “Jahar’s World,” is already posted online.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, said in a letter to Rolling Stonepublisher Jann Wenner that the cover “rewards a terrorist with celebrity treatment.” He added that the magazine should have featured the survivors and their supporters, individuals who he said “deserve Rolling Stone cover stories.”

Rolling Stone editors responded to the criticism by expressing their condolences to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing but added that the story “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.”

They added that it’s imperative for Rolling Stone to gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens because Tsarnaev is the same age as many of their readers.

Four people died and dozens more were severely injured when two pressure cooker bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in April. Erika Brannock of Towson lost her leg in the blast and was the last survivor to leave the hospital after seven weeks of treatment.

The Tsarnaev family is also connected to Maryland. Tsarneav’s uncles, Ruslan Tsarni and Alvi Tsarni, live in Montgomery Village and implored their nephews to surrender to police after the bombing.

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