[Senator Clay Davis]

Unfortunately for Rolling Stone people do not view them as a news magazine or anything close. Most people view it as a pop culture/music magazine that generally releases terrible music lists. They almost always have a celebrity or musician on the cover, and its gotta be 1 out of maybe ever 60 issues they'll have a news story or more likely a political one. Like most magazines you need something good on the cover, and for Rolling Stone news doesn't help them sell.

So while the picture itself is definitely not the best choice, its more about the expectations most people have of Rolling Stone. You don't expect to see a guy who allegedly murdered 3 people on the cover, and doing so is giving him fame whether that was their intention or not. I have no problem with the article, but make it the banner headline and have Willie getting high on the bus as the picture. Everyone is cool with seeing that.