 |
Jann Wenner, co-founder, editor and publisher of Rolling Stone, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017, is looking for a buyer for his controlling stake in the magazine.
The announcement follows Wenner Media’s sale of 49 percent of Rolling Stone to Singapore-based digital music company BandLab Technologies last year. The company has also shed several other titles recently. In June, it sold Men’s Journal to National Enquirer publisher American Media, which also bought Us Weekly from Wenner in March.
Once the home to such writers as Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe, Rolling Stone suffered a blow to its credibility in 2014, when it had to retract a story about an alleged gang rape on the University of Virginia campus.
While the magazine has had to contend with the problems facing all print media, its sales remain relatively healthy. The Alliance for Audited Media says that Rolling Stone’s paid circulation has held steady at 1.5 million since 2014.
While both Wenner and his son Gus, who is the title’s president and chief operating officer, told the Times they plan to stay at the magazine, they acknowledged that the ultimate decision on that will be up to any potential new owner.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing a spin-off of the Truth Social platform following the expected closing of its $6B merger deal with TAE Technologies... Condé Nast sells off Them, the digital LGBTQ-focused platform it launched in 2017, to Equalpride, publisher of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Health PLUS Wellness and Pride.com... CBS News has parted ways with longevity influencer Peter Attia, one of the 19 contributors that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss brought on as part of her plan to present a wider variety of voices on the platform. 
