Rolling Stone Magazine facts for kids
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| Editor | Noah Shachtman |
|---|---|
| Categories | Popular culture |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Publisher | Brian Szejka |
| Total circulation (June 2023) |
423,377 |
| Founder | Jann Wenner Ralph J. Gleason |
| First issue | November 9, 1967 |
| Company | Penske Media Corporation |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | New York City, U.S. (475 Fifth Ave 10th Floor New York, NY 10017) |
| Language | English |
| ISSN | 0035-791X |
| OCLC | 969027590 |
Rolling Stone is an American monthly magazine. It focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was started in San Francisco, California in 1967. The founders were Jann Wenner and music writer Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine first became famous for covering rock music. It also featured political stories by Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine changed its focus. It started to appeal to younger readers. These readers were interested in TV shows, movie stars, and pop music. Now, it covers a mix of music, entertainment, and politics again.
The very first magazine came out in 1967. It had John Lennon on the cover. At first, it was published every two weeks.
Penske Media Corporation owns Rolling Stone today. They bought most of the magazine in 2017. They bought the rest in 2020. Noah Shachtman became the main editor in 2021.
Contents
Discovering Rolling Stone's Journey
How Rolling Stone Began: 1967-1979
Rolling Stone magazine was created in San Francisco in 1967. It was founded by Jann Wenner and Ralph J. Gleason. To start the magazine, Wenner borrowed money from his family.
The first issue came out on November 9, 1967. It showed John Lennon on the cover. He was dressed for his film How I Won the War. The magazine looked like a newspaper. It had a main story about the Monterey Pop Festival. Each copy cost 25 cents. It was published every two weeks.
In the first issue, Wenner explained the magazine's name. It came from an old saying: "A rolling stone gathers no moss." He also mentioned the 1950 blues song "Rollin' Stone" by Muddy Waters. The band The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan's song "Like a Rolling Stone" also inspired the name.
Rolling Stone first wrote about the hippie counterculture. This was a big movement in the 1960s. However, it was different from other underground newspapers. It used more traditional reporting styles. It avoided the strong political views of some other papers.
The magazine's slogan was "All the news that fits." This phrase was suggested by an early writer, Susan Lydon. She got it from a funny newspaper issue. It was a joke about The New York Times' slogan. The slogan first appeared in Rolling Stone in 1969.
In the 1970s, Rolling Stone became known for its political stories. Writers like Hunter S. Thompson wrote for the magazine. The magazine also helped many writers become famous. These included Cameron Crowe and Patti Smith.
Rolling Stone covered many important events. In 1970, it wrote about the Altamont Free Concert. This story won an award. Later in 1970, the magazine published a long article about Charles Manson. This article also won a major award. Four years later, they covered the Patty Hearst story. Many people bought their first copy of the magazine when they started college. It was a special moment for them.
In 1972, Wenner asked Tom Wolfe to cover NASA's last Moon mission. This was Apollo 17. Wolfe wrote a four-part series in 1973. It was about astronauts feeling sad after being in space. This series later led to his famous book, The Right Stuff.
In 1977, the magazine moved its main office. It moved from San Francisco to New York City. Editor Jann Wenner felt San Francisco was no longer a major cultural center.
Evolving into an Entertainment Magazine: 1980-1999
Kurt Loder joined Rolling Stone in 1979. He worked there for nine years, even as an editor. Other writers like Timothy White and David Fricke also joined.
Tom Wolfe suggested writing a novel in parts for the magazine. Wenner offered Wolfe a large sum of money for this. From 1984 to 1985, Wolfe published a new part in each issue. This novel later became The Bonfire of the Vanities.
Rolling Stone was known for music and political news. In 1985, it started a new advertising campaign. This campaign compared symbols from the 1960s to the 1980s. This helped the magazine get more ads and pages.
In the 1980s, it also became more of an entertainment magazine. Music was still important. But it started covering more celebrities, films, and pop culture. It also began its yearly "Hot Issue." In the 1990s, the magazine changed again. It wanted to attract younger readers. It focused on youth TV shows, movie actors, and popular music. Some people thought the magazine cared more about looks than important stories.
Growing Its Audience: 2000-2015
After some years of fewer readers, the magazine became popular again. This was thanks to two young writers, Michael Hastings and Matt Taibbi. Rob Sheffield also joined the team. In 2005, Dana Leslie Fields, a former publisher, was honored. She was put into the Magazine Hall of Fame.
New Owners and Global Reach: Since 2016
In 2016, Rolling Stone sold a part of the magazine. A company from Singapore, BandLab Technologies, bought 49%. This new owner did not get involved in the magazine's stories.
In 2017, Wenner Media announced it would sell the rest of Rolling Stone. In December 2017, Penske Media bought the remaining 51%. From July 2018, it became a monthly magazine. In 2019, Penske bought BandLab's share. This gave Penske full ownership.
In 2021, a Chinese version of the magazine started. In September 2021, Rolling Stone launched a special UK edition. This was done with Attitude magazine. The new British Rolling Stone joined other music magazines. The first issue had different cover stars. It was planned to be published every two months.
In 2022, Rolling Stone bought Life Is Beautiful. This is a music and art festival. They said live events are important for the magazine's future.
In 2023, Rolling Stone was nominated for its first Emmy award. This was for its online investigation into "The DJ and the War Crimes." This piece also won other awards. In December 2023, Rolling Stone won several more awards for its arts and entertainment journalism.
How the Magazine Looked: Print Format Changes
The printed magazine has changed its look many times. From 1967 to 1972, it was a folded newspaper. It had no staples and only black text. There was one highlight color that changed with each issue.
From 1973, it was printed with four colors. It used a different size of newsprint paper. In 1979, a bar code appeared on the cover. In 1980, it became a glossy, large-sized magazine. In 2008, it switched to a standard magazine size. Then, in July 2018, it went back to its larger format.
Exploring the Rolling Stone Website
The Rolling Stone magazine often promotes its website. It lists detailed links to articles on its table of contents pages.
On April 19, 2010, the website was updated. It started to feature all past Rolling Stone articles. At first, you had to pay to see the old articles. Now, it's free if you have a print subscription. In 2012, the website added a search feature. This lets you search both the website and the old articles.
The website has become a great place to find information about music artists. It also has historical rankings from the magazine. Users can compare lists and learn about music history. The website has an alphabetical list of all artists.
See also
In Spanish: Rolling Stone para niños
