Magazine Battle Royale Sinks Top Rolling Stone Editor After Clashes With Founder Jan Wenner's Son
Rolling Stone’s Noah Shachtman announced this week that he is resigning from his role as editor-in-chief of the popular music magazine.
Rolling Stone’s Noah Shachtman announced this week that he is resigning from his role as editor-in-chief of the popular music magazine, RadarOnline.com can report. The move allegedly came after several clashes between Shachtman and the son of Rolling Stone founder Jan Wenner.
In a sudden development to come nearly three years after Shachtman was named Rolling Stone’s editor-in-chief in July 2021, the journalist announced on Friday that he is stepping down from the role starting March 1.
“After two and a half amazing years at Rolling Stone, I’m stepping down as editor-in-chief as of March 1,” Shachtman tweeted on Friday. “It’s the right decision, one Gus Wenner and I made after many discussions about the direction of the brand.”
“I’m so proud of all we’ve accomplished together – culture-shaping scoops and profiles, a National Magazine Award, an Emmy nomination, more than two billion views in the last year alone, and, most importantly, the assembling of a genuinely remarkable team,” he continued.
According to Shachtman, he will remain a contributing writer for the popular music magazine after stepping down as editor-in-chief next month.
Shachtman also confirmed that he will write for other outlets while launching his own “start-up project” upon his departure as editor-in-chief.
Gus Wenner is the magazine’s chief executive and the son of Rolling Stone founder Jan Wenner.
“I can’t wait to see how Gus & co. build on RS’ historical mission to celebrate the best of pop culture,” he said on Friday. “And I won’t be doing so entirely on the sidelines; I’ll be a contributing writer for Rolling Stone.”
“I’ll also be writing for other outlets while I work on a start-up project,” he concluded. “More on that to come.”
Meanwhile, a Rolling Stone insider reportedly told the New York Times that Shachtman’s resignation as editor-in-chief came after several editorial differences with Gus Wenner – the magazine’s chief executive and the son of Rolling Stone founder Jan Wenner.
Gus Wenner has since announced that Shachtman will be replaced by Rolling Stone’s deputy editor, Sean Woods, and the magazine’s digital director, Lisa Tozzi, until a new editor-in-chief is named in the coming weeks.
Shachtman's resignation came less than three years after he joined Rolling Stone in July 2021.
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“I have an incredible amount of confidence and trust in our entire team and could not be more excited about the next chapter in Rolling Stone’s evolution,” Gus Wenner said on Friday.
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Shachtman’s resignation as Rolling Stone’s editor-in-chief also came just a few months after the magazine’s founder, Jann Wenner, was removed from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – which he founded – in September following a series of controversial remarks.
The music magazine’s founder faced backlash in September after he refused to include interviews with female musicians or musicians of color in a new book he was releasing at the time.
Rolling Stone founder Jan Wenner faced backlash in September and was removed from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
When asked why he only included interviews with male and white musicians, Wenner explained that the “people had to meet a couple of criteria, but it was just kind of my personal interest and love of them.”
“You know, just for public relations sake, maybe I should have gone and found one Black and one woman artist to include here that didn’t measure up to that same historical standard, just to avert this kind of criticism,” he added at the time.
Jan Wenner later apologized for his controversial remarks, and Shachtman published a piece that re-examined Rolling Stone’s history from its launch in November 1967 to the controversy in September 2023.
“In the wake of our founder’s offensive comments, we’re taking a hard look at where we’ve been and where we’re going,” Shachtman wrote in October.
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