Week 3 EOC | Rolling Stone Magazine

Rolling Stone is a popular magazine that publishes bi-weekly and focuses on events and issues that involve politics and popular culture (music, movies, and celebrities). Recently, the magazine is surrounded by a huge controversy because of who was on their recent cover, but Rolling Stone has experienced that type of scandal many times in the past. So, obviously, the magazine is used to this kind of attention, but why? Why do the publishers of Rolling Stone publish this kind of magazine? What is the magazine all about and what are their intentions? What is their brand?

Jann Wenner and Ralph J. Gleason founded the magazine in 1967 in San Francisco, California. Today, Jann Wenner is still the current chief editor. Rolling Stone was originally known for its musical coverage and for political reporting; however, the magazine changed its format during the 1990s to appeal to a younger audience. As a result, the magazine started reporting on “youth-oriented television shows, film actors, and popular music.” Many people criticize the magazine for focusing too much on style over content. During the 1970s, the magazine started covering politics. Hunter S. Thompson was one of the head journalists for writing the magazine’s political section. Wenner wanted the magazine to be the voice of the generation. He wanted the brand of the magazine to be daring and out there. During that decade, the magazine was like a source of rebellion against social order with the help of music: “What made Jann — and Rolling Stone — successful was the power of rock‘n’ roll combined with his personal ruthlessness and the opportunism, including kindness, that wealth allows” (Weir).

Today, Rolling Stone is undeniably an attention-grabbing magazine. As a brand, they represent a different, distinct perspective on issues that deal with political events and popular culture. It started off as a music magazine, but evolved into a magazine that promotes pop culture: “By the 1980s, Rolling Stone had become somewhat more institutionalized, monetized and adopted ideas (e.g., employee drug testing) shunned by the early culture of the magazine's founders” (dtmagazine.com). The magazine itself includes very lengthy articles, so they aim at a young and educated audience. Because magazine sales are slowly declining, Rolling Stone is now on the Internet, but people still buy and read Rolling Stone, the magazine, because of the Rolling Stone brand and the reputation of the magazine. Overtime, Rolling Stone has become a cultural phenomenon that truly expresses the alternate, youthful perspective. I believe the magazine's brand represents the voice that wants to be heard in society.


Sources:
1.) Freedman, Samuel. “Literary ‘Rolling Stone’ sells out to male titillation.” USA Today. 2002. http://www.samuelfreedman.com/articles/culture/ust_rolling.html
2.) Weir, David. “Wenner’s World.” Salon. 20 April 1999. http://www.salon.com/1999/04/20/wenner/
3.) http://www.dtmagazine.com/cmopg1924/rs1.html