Bath Magazine apologises over copycat front cover that took ‘inspiration’ from tribute to victims of Boston Marathon bombing

Magazine’s publisher admits to making ‘an error of judgement’

The Bath Magazine apologised after similarities between its cover and a Boston Marathon bombing victims tribute image caused outrage on social media

A British magazine has been forced to apologise after using a front cover image which it says was “inspired” by another publication’s tribute to victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.

The front cover of The Bath Magazine’s February edition showed running shoes arranged on a black background leaving the shape of a heart in the centre – in a design similar to that used by Boston magazine as a tribute to those killed and injured by the attack in April last year.

The similarity has led to outrage on Twitter, and was spotted by a member of Boston’s editorial team. SI Rosenbaum tweeted @TheBathMagazine: “Hey Bath, who died in your marathon?”

The Boston magazine’s editor-in-chief, Carly Carioli, responded yesterday afternoon by writing an open letter to the Bath publication, which said: “You liked the shoes cover so much that you borrowed (others have used less charitable phrases) the concept for your February issue on the half marathon in Bath.

“We hope that if you were so bold as to borrow our idea, you will also borrow the spirit of that cover,” and asked the magazine to “make a significant donation” to its fund supporting the bombing victims.

The Bath Magazine today apologised in its own open letter, explaining that it wanted to make a cover which “reflected the twin themes of the inclusive nature of the Bath Half marathon and Valentine, this being our February issue”.

Publisher Steve Miklos said: “Late in the process of creating our front cover we were made aware of the Boston magazine cover, and while we were inspired by it, we realize we have made an error of judgement by not fully realising its connotations in the States.”

The letter asked Boston to “accept our apology from one community to another and accept that our intentions were well meant”, and said the publishers would indeed be making a contribution to the Boston One Fund.

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