Judging Them By Their Cover

They are not doing as poorly as newspapers, but I think we all know the magazine industry is slowly dying. Most of them have gotten extremely specific with the kind of articles they write which is a good way to have a loyal audience, but when you only cover one topic you had better cover it better than anyone else and too often that is not the case - it's just article after article which could pass for a press release. People still have magazine subscriptions but these days it is much easier to get a look at an article online without having to pay for it, so the number of non-subscription sales are way down. That has caused more publications to take risks with their content under the age-old marketing premise that "there is no such thing as bad press." Like every Bostonian, I was extremely unnerved by the news that the cover of next month's Rolling Stone magazine is going to have Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover. Inside will contain a lengthy article investigating what causes a seemingly normal kid to go off the rails and suddenly become an extremist capable of attacking a crowd of innocent strangers. It's in interesting topic to be sure and worthy of examination, but that doesn't change the fact that there was no need to put a terrorist on the cover of a famous pop culture magazine photoshopped to look like a member of a boy band about to debut his first solo record.

Even though it is most famous for its music reviews and profiles, this is hardly the first time Rolling Stone has ventured into politics. And unlike a lot of people yesterday who were saying they should stick to reviewing albums, I actually have no problem if they want to weigh in on the issue. I happen to think good writing is good writing and just because Rolling Stone may be primarily a music magazine that does not mean it can't offer valid opinions on other topics. (On numerous occasions I have found sportswriters often give some of their most insightful perspectives on non-sports issues, so you never know where the best idea is going to come from.) I just don't agree with how they have decided to promote the issue. As you would imagine I am not alone in this because people in Boston are pretty pissed. They feel like it glorifies the wrong person (many people created their own fake covers online yesterday with the victims as the real story) and are calling for a boycott of the issue. Almost immediately CVS and Tedeschi's announced they would not carry this particular issue and many other businesses quickly followed, but I worry that is going to only serve to make this issue more popular as it is now a rare collector's item and as we know from people spending stupid amounts of money on Aaron Hernandez jerseys on eBay, people will buy just about anything if they think it could some day be worth either money or a laugh. I'm pretty sure those are the people Rolling Stone had in mind all along, which just goes to show you their focus is becoming too narrowed.

Of course, this magazine is going to be a big hit with a certain crowd and that is the people who think Tsarnaev is some kind of folk hero. Most people are convince of his guilt but as we saw last week when he was arraigned, there are people out there who are just as certain of his innocence, thinking he and his brother were victims of a vast government conspiracy. (I wouldn't want these people making up the core of my loyal subscribers, but their money is just as good as the next person's.) They will want to buy this issue in bulk and probably get it framed. I'm not as concerned with the people who say this will inspire other people to follow Tsarnaev's lead. I feel like fame is not most terrorists' motivation and you can't spend money from jail. My biggest fear is that it will lead to more people looking at a picture of a fresh-faced kid and thinking he could never be as evil as the rest of us know he is. I obviously haven't read the article yet, but the last thing I would want this major publication to do is paint Tsarnaev in a sympathetic light or as a puppet to his more authoritative brother, which is what his lawyers probably plan to use as his defense. Who knows how many people that could sway and if we have learned anything in the last week it is that anything can happen when you put justice in the hands of people too stupid to get out of jury duty. When the best thing for everyone involved would be for there to be fewer Tsarnaev sympathizes out there, this cover is not going to help.

Still, this is clearly nothing more than Rolling Stone's attempt to get attention and it is working. Everyone was talking about the cover yesterday and I couldn't tell you the last time Rolling Stone magazine was part of a national discussion. However, it is the wrong kind of attention. I mentioned that this feels like the magazine is targeting the people with morbid sense of humor or who collect things which they think will either be worth money down the line or a little gallows humor in the moment. Those people are fine if you need to fill up your bank account in the short term but they very rarely become repeat customers. If the magazine really wants to make sure it stays in circulation it needs to step up its game and rebuild its brand among young readers (who exist, I swear). The way to do that is to focus on a better web presence that keeps people engaged, not picking a controversial topic to shock people into looking at your magazine once. That was the kind of thing Rolling Stone used to do, back when people were foolish enough to actually believe that musicians could really be dangerous. But now we know even the 'controversial' stars are actually carefully crafted personas made by record executives so they aren't scary anymore. Without a controversial figure in the music industry to rely on Rolling Stone apparently felt the need to go extra shocking. But rather than blow us away with how daring they are it just seems tired, unoriginal and a little desperate, which feels strangely appropriate move for a magazine to pull. And the fact that a once-iconic magazine like Rolling Stone felt this was the only way to get back into the public discussion may be the biggest news item of them all.