US News

Rolling Stone doubles mag sales with controversial ‘Boston Bomber’ cover

Rolling Stone doubled their average per-issue sales with a controversial cover story featuring Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Retail sales of the issue jumped 102 percent over average per-issue sales for the past year, according to AdWeek.

Magazine Information Network figures analyzed point-of-sale data from 1,420 retailers over ten days.

Between July 19 and July 29, 13,232 copies were sold at stores, more than double the magazine’s average sales for the prior year.

The cover story for the Aug.1 edition generated controversy with several retailers including CVS and Walgreens announcing that they will not carry the issue.

Rolling Stone editors said in a statement that the story fell within the traditions of journalism and the magazine’s commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage.

“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 statement said.

The cover was ill-conceived at best and reaffirms a message that destruction gains fame for killers, Boston Mayor Tom Menino wrote in a letter to Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner.

“Among those we lost, those who survived, and those who help carry them forward, there are artists and musicians and dancers and writers. They have dreams and plans,” he wrote. “They struggle and strive. The survivors of the Boston attacks deserve Rolling Stone cover stories, although I no longer feel that Rolling Stone deserves them.”

Three retailers based within 50 miles of the site of the bombings, including Rhode Island-based CVS and convenience stores Tedeschi Food Shops and Cumberland Farms in Massachusetts, said they would not carry the magazine. Walgreens, headquartered in Illinois, joined them in opting out of selling the issue.

– with Associated Press