Following the 2013 Boston Marathon, during which three lives were lost and hundreds more injured from the blasts of bombs placed at the finish line, Boston Magazine released an issue with the cover article – ‘The Shoes We Wore‘ – outfitted by a now-iconic design, with dozens of pairs of running shoes lined up to form a colorful heart surrounding the title of the issue, ‘We Will Finish The Race.’
The cover design received an influx of praise for the Boston publication, and went on to gain worldwide recognition – and rightly so. So much recognition, in fact, that editor-at-large John Wolfson wrote a response, thanking people for the attention and giving an explanation to the story behind the picture. Posters of the image were printed, with sales benefitting the One Fund, and copies were sold in areas beyond the magazine’s usual circulation.
It was a photo that perfectly depicted the bond felt in Boston following the marathon blasts, and its image did make an impression around the world – but when a magazine in the UK decided to mirror that same image for one of their own covers, the response wasn’t nearly as heartfelt.
Update: Boston Magazine has issued an official response on their website to The Bath‘s cover.
The Bath Magazine printed their latest issue with the cover seen above in support of the Bath Half Marathon. When the marathon tweeted a photo from its account, the magazine soon fielded negative responses from those who found the cover offensive and inappropriate – not to mention, infringing upon copyrights – including employees at Boston Magazine.
Hey Bath, who died in your marathon? @TheBathMagazine @bathhalf — S.I. Rosenbaum (@sirosenbaum) January 28, 2014
The UK magazine has apologized for the cover, inciting more backlash in response, along with those who come to the magazine’s defense in that the cover was done for a good cause.
We would like to make an unreserved apology for any upset or offence caused by our latest cover. This was clearly not our intention. — The Bath Magazine (@TheBathMagazine) January 28, 2014
The Bath has yet to make an official statement on its website.
Update: The Bath publisher Steve Miklos issued an open-letter apology to Boston Magazine, promising that the magazine will be making a donation to the One Fund.
Featured image via Craig Silver on Twitter.
