In 1967, a young Jann Wenner published the first edition of Rolling Stone with the help of critic Ralph J. Gleason.
Initially a pure-music publication, it soon became known for the political writing of Hunter S. Thompson. Over the years, it would be the cornerstone of both music and counterculture reporting.
Over the weekend, it was reported that Wenner is planning on selling his controlling interest in the magazine with his business partner and son, Gus Wenner, saying “publishing is a completely different industry than it was.”
Jann said that he hopes that the buyer will understand the position of Rolling Stone in the culture and will continue its mission. He also intends that he and his son will stay on at the publication.
Over the past year, Gus has been instrumental in unloading a number of parts of what became the Rolling Stone publishing empire, first selling of Us Weekly and Men’s Journal and, later, selling a 49% stake in the company to BandLab Technologies in Singapore.
