Jann Wenner's life would make a spectacular movie. From the kid with a dream who founded a rock magazine in San Francisco in the 60s, to one of the leaders of the free radical Gonzo movement in the 70s, to the total sellout who caved in to sex and pop culture in the 90s: The Wenner narrative is an Icarus arc that hasn't yet completed its descent.
But with Rolling Stone diminishing its physical and staff size, even a grown-up child genius needs some advice sometimes. And we're here to give it to him. He can thank us later.
Build a time machine and get a jump-start on this "Internets" thing that everyone is talking about
Jann has spent the majority of the 00s avoiding the Internet trend like the plague. Someone had bought the RollingStone.com URL and instead of trying to buy the guy out, Wenner let him keep it. Bad move: While most magazines and papers saw the necessity of online content even before the recession, Wenner was of the school of thought that Web stuff served only to boost subscriptions and maybe act as a supplement to the print edition. But he also claimed to have invented the hyper-link? Um, okay. Only just recently did Jann even bother hiring a digital director, but it's a case of too little, too late: the only way Jann could boost traffic at his sites now is to create a lot of buzz about a re-release/unveiling of Rolling Stone and Us Weekly's sites.
Get Us Weekly editors under control
Former Us Weekly editor Jill Ishkanian gained infamy for stalking Heather Locklear out of a bar, calling the police when Locklear got into her car and taking pictures of the subsequent DUI. And this was after Wenner said Us Weekly would be "nice" to celebrities. Ishkanian also sued Us Weekly for then-editor Ken Baker's attempts at ruining her reputation.
Lets see, then there was Bonnie Fuller, who left the mag to become a celebrity in her own right; Bradley Jacobs, whose bias towards Barack Obama and against Sarah Palin became such a huge scandal that Megyn Kelly, of all people, ripped him a new one; and current editor Janice Min, who hates fat people.
Get back some of that famous Gonzo writing
Cameron Crowe turned his experience of being a kid reporter for Rolling Stone on tour with The Allman Brothers Band into Almost Famous. Hunter S. Thompson's earliest reports back to headquarters involved him barging into Wenner's office and declaring himself the mayor of Aspen. During the 80s and 90s, P.J. O'Rourke was Rolling Stone's foreign-affairs desk chief.
And now? Trying to name a recent writer for Rolling Stone is like trying to remember why you thought Phish was a good band when you were in high school. A faint whiff of nostalgia maybe, but nothing of substance.
Pick an audience for Rolling Stone
We know it's tricky. As Salon reported back in 2002:
It's demographically impossible to please both 49-year-old rock fans and the walking boners who buy FHM (or more to the point, Blender, the Maxim-derived music mag that got Wenner trembling in the first place), so why try?
Although the final analysis from their corner was to shut the whole operation down and let Rolling Stone live on in memories, we feel a less extreme measure could be taken to regain some of the old maverick cred. Sure, there is an oversaturated market of music magazines out there right now, much younger and hipper and less corporate (well, that's debatable…even Vice is owned by Viacom). But Rolling Stone is Rolling Stone, and if you can't beat 'em in age, beat 'em in experience.
Which is why Wenner should put a halt to the music reviews, the unnecessary blogs and interviews with today's tween stars and focus on RS's original fan base: the people who, now in their 40s and 50s, want to read a magazine of culture and sustenance, not a 2,000 word fluff interview with Miley Cyrus. Hire some good, big names, or find some young, loose cannon talent (that Nate Silver kid is a good bet) and provide quality where the quantity is being trimmed.
Take a cue from your own Men's Journal
Besides Rolling Stone and Us Weekly, did you know there was another magazine that filled out the Wenner trifecta? Men's Journal is the quiet sibling of the three, and even though this year will definitely hurt the mag in terms of ad sales (men's magazines are going to miss the necessary car ads), Wenner's Journal last month ranked number one on Amazon's Bestsellers in Magazines list for all magazines. So how is Men's Journal doing so well in a market overrun by dude mags, while in the meantime competition such as Men's Vogue had to be reduced to barely-there? Because, as William McGee wrote a month ago, the writing in Men's Journal isn't your usual churn-out of formulaic b.s.:
This prose is not designed for armchair athletes, or armchair anythings. From the products MJ promotes to the medical advice it dishes out (should skiers strap their poles onto their wrists?), it's all about participation.
Jann should take his own principle to heart when hiring copy-monkeys to fill 90-plus pages of Rolling Stone with bullshit.
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Jann should take a copy of Rolling Stone, roll it up, and stick it where the sun don't shine.
Like most baby boomers, this rag has outlived its usefulness.
Having worked at The Stone in the early '80's, I've always been
amazed over the years how much industry 'front row' talent has passed through those halls (note the recent TV interview with Annie Liebowitz). You don't have to be an industry insider to understand why. It's the 'enfant terrible' himself. Jann is a train wreck to work for. Really scary. So … how do you fix the
problem when the stern proprietor is standing in the doorway? I would argue that until he's willing to check his ego at that same door, none of the above suggestions are gonna happen. He has to basically 'invent' ideas himself, or the towering view of Jann won't except advice from others. That's why the magazine lacks direction, self identity, or a clear understanding who it's writting to … A sad commentary on a once vibrant cultural phenomenon.
I agree with most of your points but your wrong on one. They do have one current writer of real style and substance: Matt Taibbi.
No kidding, Tim. Jossip, do you actually read the magazine? Taibbi is definitely some of the best stuff Rolling Stone's ever had. His political coverage was amazing, certainly up to gonzoesque standards. And let's be real, if Hunter was writing his stuff today, he'd be mocked by websites like this.
Yeah, that "Bush Exit Interview" that Taibbi phoned in was really groundbreaking.
His life already was a movie.
Almost Famous.
actually, herbie, that was based on the life of (and written by) Cameron Crowe.
Although Jann Wenner plays the editor of rolling stone (surprisingly named Mark??) in this movie Perfect, with John Travolta.
It's not the best: http://videogum.com/archives/t.....41571.html
While I think Matt Taibbi is a good writer, his complete left bias gets annoying sometimes. I feel like he complains but offers no solutions..just like everybody else.
Oh..and the solution is definitely not Obama.
And no I'm not a Republican.
jossip has a real bias against rolling stone. it wins awards, has plenty of great writers on staff, and is still a great read. you're nuts
I'm sure Taibbi is great for Rolling Stone. But you need a full stable of sharp earth-moving writers. Their cred should be referenced and quoted in the national media, industry pubs, blogs and pop culture lexicon if you want to turn this sinking 'legacy' around. Otherwise, The Stone will be referred to in the past tense like a fading starlet who hasn't done a 'breakthrough' picture in years. Make the culture and priority at RS nurturing and accepting of potentially inspired up-and-coming journalists and they will flock to the pub. Then you get noticed…
David… you missed some facts:
NYPost
January 13, 2009 –
FORMER Us Weekly editor Jill Ishkanian is running out of moneymaking schemes. Ishkanian was shadowing Heather Locklear last September, called police when she saw Locklear getting into her car, and then sleazily sold photos of the DUI bust to TMZ for $27,500. Then, Ishkanian filed a $55 million lawsuit against Us Weekly, accusing then-West Coast editor Ken Baker of trying to ruin her reputation after she left the magazine and of sending dirty texts to his nanny. But a California judge has thrown out her case and awarded Jann Wenner's mag $1 million in legal fees.
WHERE THE F@CK IS SHE GOING TO GET THE $1 MILLION DOLLARS FROM?
Jill Ishkanian hasn't worked at Us in years.
Heather Locklear wasn't at a bar when Ishkanian saw her under the influence. Besides, Heather wasn't drinking. Her arrest was for prescription pills.
I believe the topic here is about turning Rolling Stone around. Not about Jill Ishkanian? or Heather Locklear? Stay with the topic or go to a People magazine blog …
suggesting rollingstone cater solely to a dying demographic shows the writer doesn't understand the media business. The fact that Britney, the Jonas Brothers and their ilk grace the cover multiple times a year says more about the poor taste of our celebrity and pop culture-driven society than it does about the magazine.
Wonder if Matt Taibbi is Mike Taibbi's son. Mike was a great newsman who worked with my father at WCVB (ABC) Boston. That station launched Leslie Stahl, Mike, and Bill O'Reilly back in the day.
Matt or Mike Taibbi aren't going to fix Rolling Stone. Boring. How about some big ideas on repositioning the magazine? You know, the macro instead of the micro. How about the magazine marketplace? Changing demographics? The culture of music and celebrity? The impact and immediacy of the internet versus a monthly magazine? Evolving political and music coverage in the mass media? These are far more interesting issues than the comings and goings of Matt, Heather or Jill…
Isn't what this blog is about or did I enter the 'celebrity tattler' site by mistake ???
Ever since the format change of RS magazine I've been disappointed. I've got five unread issues on my reading table. I used to bolt to the mailbox to grab the latest issue, then devour it cover-to-cover. I subconciously and joyfully proofread and edited each issue in my mind. Not really minding the little problems. It's been a thrilling twenty-five+ years. Sadly, the thrill is gone.
Lynn, I think that's at the heart of the problem. It's not 'must' reading anymore. Yes, I agree, to quote BB King:
"The thrill is gone." Need to do a big overhaul to get it
exciting again…
i haven't found anything intriguing about rolling stone since john lennon was on the cover.