Institution Research: Rolling Stone Magazine

Institution Research: Rolling Stone Magazine

An introduction

Rolling Stone is a magazine which focuses on music news, movies and TV, politics and reviews. The first issue of Rolling Stone went on sale on the 9^th November 1967, and has released new issues every 2 weeks since. The magazine itself suffered a reoccurring lack of interest until its newly controversial and more interesting headlines by new journalists of the company (Michael Hastings and Matt Taibbi) helped the magazine to become universally successful in the late 2000s.

Content

Rolling Stone heavily features music from the 1960s and 70s. This has been harshly criticized by some reviewers, calling Rolling Stone’s content “unrepentant rockist fogeyism”. Nevertheless, in the very first issue of the magazine, Wenner wrote that Rolling Stone “is not just about the music, but about the things and attitudes that music embraces.”

As well as classic rock music featuring in Rolling Stone, a varied range of artists from different and more up-to-date genres are heavily featured. A-List artists such as hip-hop artist Jay Z, and pop/country artist Taylor Swift are just a few of the recognizable faces seen on some of Rolling Stones latest covers. As well as music, Rolling Stone features articles on politics, music, movies and TV, interviews and reviews.

The publishing institution

The magazine is published and owned by Wenner Media LLC (Limited Liability Company). The magazine itself was founded and published by Gleason and Wenner  in San Francisco, in 1967. Wenner himself got the magazine off the ground by borrowing money from family members. His company also owns Men’s Journal and Us Weekly magazines.

The Reader Profile

The stereotypical reader of Rolling Stone magazine would most likely have a varied interest in music, probably being a fan of the headline acts in the pop industry today, as well as up and coming artists, and stars from past eras. The typical reader would probably have a fair amount of disposable income, as the magazine currently costs £5.19 in the UK.

Layout trademarks of the magazine

A staple trademark of the Rolling Stone magazine is the colour scheme used on each cover. Each cover includes the logo which in almost every issue is coloured red, along with a statement white background. Red and white seem to be the trademark colour scheme for this magazine. Another trademark of the magazine’s cover is the way in which they include a strong use of central image – primarily the magazine will feature an interview of this artist. The central image in most issues overlaps the name of the magazine, giving the cover a sense of depth. 

Rihanna on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, February 2013