As I read this morning’s editorials it seemed odd for part-time journalist Lauren Daley to be advocating for press censorship in the case of Rolling Stone’s cover photo of Dzokar Tsarnaev. But that’s apparently where American journalism is headed.
Given the magazine’s overall style, one could argue that putting anyone on a Rolling Stone cover tends to glamorize them. There was similar whining in 1970 when Rolling Stone’s cover featured Charles Manson – something TIME Magazine did as well, along with placing the Columbine killers on their cover.
And speaking of TIME Magazine, many of its “Man of the Year” issues have been fairly controversial. In both 2000 and 2004 the “Man of the Year” was George W. Bush; in 2007 Vladimir Putin; in 2008 Barack Obama; in 2010 Mark Zuckerberg. Rather than Man of the Year, “Rogue’s Gallery” would be more like it. But perhaps the lesson here is that the public wants to read about fascinating people, not necessarily morally upright ones.
Daley spent more than a few column inches portraying the cover as a desperate attempt by the magazine to be cool, relevant, “with it,” etc. She practically ran out of adjectives after starting with “vile.” She applauded CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Kmart, and Tedeschi’s taking the magazine off their shelves. I suppose as long as the government doesn’t do it it’s not censorship in her mind.
So let’s extend Ms. Daley’s censorship to all forms of media, not just magazines. Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” (the film version won 4 Academy awards) would never have passed the “Daley Test” because it put a human a face on the cold-blooded killers of the Clutter family. There are literally thousands of books, films, and television series that feature what we can kindly term “anti-heroes” – people like Tony Soprano, Walter White, or Dirty Harry.
But putting a human face on the monsters among us, and trying to understand how they come about, is precisely the point of the Rolling Stone article – should Ms. Daley have actually bothered to read it. Especially here in Massachusetts, many wonder how a sweet, popular, curly-headed kid – yes, the one in the picture – could have become a mad bomber. Was it simply by reading Islamist propaganda? Was it just his brother’s influence? The answers, as always, are more complex. But apparently Ms. Daley isn’t even a wee bit curious.
This was published in the Standard Times on July 19, 2013
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20130719/opinion/307190349
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