It was heartbreaking for many to wake up to the news that legendary musician David Bowie had passed away from cancer at the age of 69, but the New York Times is most likely feeling another kind of terrible pain. In today’s print edition, one article detailed how Bowie will be honored at Carnegie Hall on March 31 of this year with a concert that features Cyndi Lauper, The Mountain Goats, and The Roots. But it’s the introduction of the article that is getting the attention.
The article in today’s New York Times starts off by stating, “It’s a good time to be David Bowie.” Since the announcement of Bowie’s death, that introduction has been retracted, and the story was updated to include a link to the report of his passing. But people can still find it unedited if they purchase a print edition of the newspaper.
The news of David Bowie’s death broke late last night in the United States, and was announced on both his Facebook and Twitter pages. A spokesman for the New York Timestold the Wrapthat the storyhad already been written and submitted before the singer’s death was announced.
“The paper had gone to print with the Arts, Briefly item before news of Bowie’s death broke.”
From today’s New York Times. So sad. pic.twitter.com/a0Ie3a4osU
— jeffpearlman (@jeffpearlman) January 11, 2016
Some readers understood that the New York Times had no intention of running that story after David Bowie’s death, and by the time the news broke, the paper had already been printed.
Unfortunate timing in today’s New York Times. RIP David Bowie. pic.twitter.com/Ksb6GQkXHz
— Dan Gutman (@DanGutmanBooks) January 11, 2016
But there were still some out there who were critical of the article’s introduction.
Fail in this morning’s New York Times #DavidBowie pic.twitter.com/35wjhraT19
— Henry Stewart (@henrycstewart) January 11, 2016
“It’s a good time to be David Bowie,” the New York Times reported today, a few hours after he died. Wisdom from the mouth of babes?
— Pico Iyer (@PicoIyer) January 11, 2016
The New York Times isn’t the only publication that had unfortunate timing when it came to publishing a story about David Bowie’s work. As the Wrap reports, the Chicago Tribune had published a review of the artist’s latest, and final, album, Blackstar , which was released this past Friday, January 8. The inital review ran over the weekend with a headline that read “Bowie finds his future.” Since Bowie’s passing, the Chicago Tribune updated its headline to “Haunting ‘Black Star’ adds to Bowie Legacy.” The publication also added in the review that the album was “released days before the performer died of cancer.”
Rolling Stonehas confirmed that the concert honoring David Bowieand his work will still take place at Carnegie Hall on the originally scheduled date. Other names that are scheduled to perform include Robyn Hitchcock, Perry Farrell, Jakob Dylan, and Ann Wilson of Heart. What was initially supposed to be a tribute to Bowie for his work will now be a memorial concert, and more artists are expected to add their names to the lineup as the concert nears. More information can be found on the concert’s official website.
While David Bowie’s death has already been confirmed by his reps, there are still some fans out there who don’t want to believe that the rock icon has passed away. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , some Bowie fans took to social media, expressing their feelings about the story possibly being a hoax. Numerous celebrities have fallen victim to online death hoaxes such as Betty White, Willie Nelson, and James Earl Jones. But this news is, unfortunately, true, and it was also confirmed by Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, the director of Moon ; Source Code ; and the upcoming Warcraft movie.
[Photo by Jo Hale/Getty Images]