A Connecticut woman is among those expressing outrage at the new Rolling Stone magazine cover featuring a photo of Boston bombing suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev.
"They've essentially equated the bomber with being a rock star," Kelly Gallagher said. "That's the absolute last message that needs to be sent."
Gallagher is with the Hartford Track Club and was at the Boston Marathon with 50 other Connecticut runners when the two bombs went off. She said the magazine should have focused on all the good that came out of the tragedy.
In downtown Hartford on Wednesday, NBC Connecticut found a lot of people who shared that sentiment.
Local
They gave us the following comments:
"It's ridiculous to give this person attention."
"To be honest I feel like they should change the cover."
"I don't like seeing it."
Rolling Stone has always appealed to a pop culture crowd. The magazine normally showcases rock stars on the cover.
The editors of the magazine responded to critics.
"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."
The article which is titled 'Jahar's World' examines how Tsarnaev went from a well liked college student to a suspected terrorist.
Rich Hanley, a professor of journalism at Quinnipiac University, said readers can decide whether or not it's appropriate.
He said despite the article's contents this is about selling magazines.
"In a way they're putting this event, this tragedy, into the realm of popular culture and I don't know if that's the right thing to do," Hanley said.
New England based CVS, Cumberland Farms and Stop and Shop are among the retailers that have already said they will not sell the magazine.
