“It’s a good time to be David Bowie,” a New York Times article declared just hours after the rock icon’s family announced early Monday morning that he had lost his battle with cancer.
The print version of the article, “David Bowie to Be Honored at Carnegie Hall,” said Bowie just celebrated his 69th birthday, released an album, ‘Blackstar,’ and has a show ‘Lazarus’ running Off Broadway. Now he is to be honored at Carnegie Hall with a concert featuring the Roots, Cyndi Lauper and the Mountain Goats, the article added.
Page C3 of today’s NYT in print: “It’s a good time to be David Bowie.” pic.twitter.com/XZviPXDgLH
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 11, 2016
The online version of the article has since been amended to reflect Bowie’s death.
“Update: David Bowie died on Sunday. He was 69,” a boldfaced update states at the top of the news article.
The opening paragraph to the online version of the story has also been amended so that it now reads, “David Bowie just celebrated his 69th birthday, released an album, ‘Blackstar,’ and has a show, ‘Lazarus,’ running Off Broadway.”
The show at Carnegie Hall will reportedly go ahead as planned without Bowie.
The Times isn’t alone in publishing ill-timed praise for the music heavyweight.
“A Chicago Tribune headline over the weekend declared that ‘Bowie finds his future’ in the newest album. Bowie died only a day later,” Mediaite’s Alex Griswold reported Monday.
In media’s defense, however, Bowie’s death seems to have come as a complete shock to everyone, as the well-loved musician apparently kept his struggle with cancer a closely guarded secret.
