Rolling Stone Turns 50…. and Bucks Print Media Trends to Become Debt Free

March 21, 2017 11:20 am
Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine by Joe Hagan is the story of of Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone Magazine.
Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine by Joe Hagan is the story of of Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone Magazine. (Bettmann/Contributor)
Rolling Stone Magazine Turns 50 and Is Debt-Free
Percussionist Ollie Brown relaxes on the plane with a copy of Rolling Stone magazine during the Rolling Stones Tour of the Americas, 1975. (Christopher Simon Sykes/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

 

At 50, Rolling Stone magazine has a lot to be thankful for besides being one of the last remaining bastions of rock ‘n’ roll journalism on newsstands.

According to Bloomberg, the magazine will finally be debt-free for the first time in the last decade, after parent company Wenner Media’s recent sale of Us Weekly for $100 million.

That bucks the downward overall trend in print media.

Also, the company has its sights set on the future with 26-year-old Gus Wenner, founder/publisher Jann Wenner’s son, heading up Rolling Stone digital. Though largely inexperienced in the ways of media, some in the company see him as just what the company needs to reach a new, lucrative millennial audience.

But the Wenners still have a tough road ahead. The company is still feeling the financial sting from a rescinded 2014 story alleging an on-campus gang rape on the University of Virginia campus. Wenner Media must again go to court this year to face new fallout from the article.

Below, watch a segment from ABC News about the article in question.

—RealClearLife

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