Jann Wenner
Jann S. Wenner (born 7 January 1946 in New York City) is the co-founder and publisher of the pop music biweekly Rolling Stone, as well as the owner of Men's Journal and Us Weekly magazines.
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Childhood
Wenner's parents divorced in 1958, and he and his sisters, Kate and Merlyn, were sent to boarding schools to live. He graduated from high school at Chadwick School in 1964 and went on to attend the University of California at Berkeley. Before dropping out of Berkeley in 1966, Wenner was active in the Free Speech Movement and produced the column, "Something's Happening," in the student run newspaper, The Daily Californian. [1]
Media Industry
In 1967, Wenner founded Rolling Stone in San Francisco with his mentor and San Francisco Chronicle jazz critic Ralph J. Gleason. The two borrowed $7,500 from the family of Wenner's future wife, Jane Schindelheim, and Wenner's mother and step-mother[2]. In the summer following the start of the magazine, Wenner and Jane Schindelheim were married in a small Jewish ceremony.[3].
With an eye for talent, Wenner backed the careers of writers such as Hunter S. Thompson, Joe Klein, Cameron Crowe and Joe Eszterhas. Wenner also discovered photographer Annie Leibovitz when she was a 21 year old San Francisco Art Institute student. His fallings-out with writers were legendary, most famous of which would be the breakdown of his relationship with the rock critic Lester Bangs, but many of Wenner's proteges, such as the writer/director Cameron Crowe still credit him for giving them their biggest break. Tom Wolfe credits Wenner with ensuring that his first novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, was completed, stating "I was absolutely frozen with fright about getting it done and I decided to serialize it and the only editor crazy enough to do that was Jann."[4].
In 1977, Rolling Stone shifted its base of operations from San Francisco to New York City.[5]. The circulation of Rolling Stone dipped briefly in the late 1970s/ early 1980s as Wenner's crew was slow to cover the emergence of punk rock and again in the 1990s, when the middle-aged magazine lost ground to Spin and Blender in coverage of hip-hop. Wenner hired former FHM editor , who was then replaced by to turn his flagship magazine around, and by 2006, Rolling Stone's circulation was at an all-time high of 1.5 million copies sold every fortnight. In May 2006, Rolling Stone published its 1000th edition with a holographic, 3-d cover modeled after The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover [6].
Wenner has also had a hand in the writing of many of Rolling Stone's famous . More recently, his writing has been politically-centered. He interviewed Bill Clinton, Al Gore and John Kerry for the magazine during their election campaigns and in November 2005 had a major interview with U2 rockstar Bono, which focused on music and politics. [7] Wenner's interview with Bono was nominated for a National Magazine Award.
Rolling Stone and Jann Wenner are chronicled in two books, Gone Crazy and Back Again as well as Rolling Stone: The Uncensored History. Former Rolling Stone journalist and Wenner protege David Weir is working on a biography,[8] as is poet and Beat historian Lewis MacAdams.[9]
Wenner founded the magazine Outside in 1977, William Randolph Hearst III and Jack Ford both worked for the magazine. He also briefly managed the magazine Look and in 1993, started the magazine Family Life. In 1985 he bought a share in Us magazine, followed by a joint purchase of the magazine with The Walt Disney Company the following year. The magazine went weekly in 2000 and after a rocky start now reaches over 11 million readers a week.[10] Most recently, in August of 2007, Wenner bought out Disney and now owns 100% of the magazine. [11]
Personal life
Wenner and his wife separated in 1995, though Jane Wenner still remains a vice president of Wenner Media. She and Wenner have three sons, Alexander Jann, Theo, and Edward Augustus.
Since 1995, Wenner's companion has been , a former model and fashion designer. The two men have a son, Noah Jasper Nye Wenner (b. 2006-08-20) who was conceived with a surrogate.[12]
Miscellaneous
Working with a small group of distinguished record company heads and music industry professionals, Wenner co-founded the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in 1983.
In 1985, he appeared in the movie Perfect with Jamie Lee Curtis and John Travolta. He also had cameo roles in Cameron Crowe's films Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous.
In the mid 1990s, Wenner was offered a chance by Marc Andreessen to invest in Netscape but turned it down.
The American Society of Magazine Editors inducted Wenner into their Hall of Fame in 1997, making him the youngest editor ever inducted. [13]
In 2004, Wenner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Lifetime Achievement category. [14]
Wenner also made a guest "appearance" in the Marvel Comic "Daredevil" issue 100 in 1973, in which he interviews the Superhero, who is thereby motivated to remember his origins (which he shares with the readers of the comic, but not with Wenner.)
References
- ^ "News", The Daily Californian, 2007-08-20. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
- ^ . Draper, Robert (1990). . Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-26060-1.
- ^ . Draper, Robert (1990). . Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-26060-1.
- ^ O'Brien, Timothy. "Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Read Me News", The New York Times, 2005-12-25. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
- ^ Carlson, Peter. "News", 2006-05-06. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
- ^ Cooper 2006
- ^ "Bono: The Rolling Stone Interview", 2005-11-03. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
- ^ Faculty: David Weir. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
- ^ Los Angeles Library Foundation. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
- ^ The Huffington Post. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
- ^ Disney to sell its half stake in Us Weekly back to Wenner. Retrieved on 2007-11-05.
- ^ Liz Smith: Happy Day for Hugh. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
- ^ Inductee Biography. Retrieved on 2007-11-05.
- ^ Inductee Biography. Retrieved on 2007-11-05.
External links
- Jann Wenner at Notable Names Database
- Jann Wenner at the Internet Movie Database
- Jann's World at Salon.com
- How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Jann Wenner Article by David Dalton in Gadfly
- An In-Depth Interview With Jann Wenner [1] at Business Week