Sean Mathews
F Block Journalism
Position Piece
Journalism
Controversy: “The Bomber”
The face of a terrorist, a murderer, the cold blooded
“Boston Bomber” stares emotionlessly at you from the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine. He’s made up and
handsome, looking innocent and very much like a rock star. What’s your
reaction? Do you pick it up and dive into the featured article? Or do you take
offense? You cannot believe that Rolling
Stone would portray a killer in such a manner. Much controversy has
surrounded the recent article “The Bomber” by Rolling Stone, which has created an argument: What is Journalism?
And when should political correctness be considered? Journalism is exactly what
Rolling Stone has always done, and
continues to do. “The Bomber” is a well- written and essential inside look on a
man that journalists dream of covering, its cover, is hardly worth all the
outrage.
As soon as Rolling
Stone released its story on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the cover of the issue was
immediately a hot topic throughout the country, specifically in Boston. Many
places, including CVS pharmacy, opted to ban the issue from its shelves. Boston
Mayor Thomas Menino, protested Rolling
Stone and the citizens of Boston stood behind him. So what was the big
problem with the article? The source of the controversy was its cover. Internet
writer Carmen Rasmusen of Desert News
calls the article “heartbreaking” and boldly states, “This is outrageous.” Her
reason for anger was that the image seemed to glorify the terrorist: “Does this
mean that creating an act of terror is now considered something great here in
the United States?” That question was asked everywhere, which lead to the
opinion that Rolling Stone was not
falling “within the traditions of journalism” as they claimed in defense of the
article. But what really ignited the fury? David Carr of The New York Times offers insight to the argument. “It was not the
image,” Carr claims, “it was the fame” and Carr has a point. Angered writers
such as Rasmusen argue that being on the cover of the iconic Rolling Stone is “a huge honor”.
However, Rasmusem doesn’t seem to consider the art of journalism. She aims for
the politically correct stance on the matter, when in reality, the article is
journalism at its finest.
What is Journalism? What’s acceptable to cover? And
what’s off limits? Journalism has always been something that uncovers a story
and reveals the truth. Rolling Stone
reports without bias, with thoughtful consideration, and with extensive research.
The weakness in Rasmusem’s argument is that she rants, “What’s even more
baffling is how this story got approved. Someone had to propose the idea.
Someone had to approve it”. The counterargument to her point would be, “Of
course someone proposed the idea!” This was the biggest story of the time!
There is a mystery behind the bomber. Uncovering this story would be a great
accomplishment for any journalist. She’s baffled at how it was proposed and
approved, the process of choosing the story, but in reality, she’s forgetting
the endless hours of research, interviews, and unfolding that the people of Rolling Stone conducted. Her argument
becomes biased, picking apart the article and making her own personal
connections to it by claiming she knows “a great deal about mental illness”
because her parent is a psychiatrist and that “mental illness is no joke”. She
complains about Rolling Stone and
their validity and journalism skill, when her validity needs to also be
considered. Rasmusen is an internet writer who not long ago, was a contestant
on “American Idol”, yet she has the credibility to tear apart the staff at Rolling Stone?
Rolling Stone
was not out of line with their article on the Boston bombings. They were trying
to sell issues, yes, but they were also providing the nation with a very
thorough work of journalism. Critical articles such as the one by Rasmusem’s
leave out the fact that this story was at the time, the biggest happening in
the nation. It was a worthy topic and controversial before the Rolling Stone article. What is
journalism? The Rolling Stone article is journalism.
