The handwriting has been on the wall for a long time, but Rolling Stone is going up for sale, courtesy of its majority-interest controlling owner and publisher, Jann Wenner. Wenner, who made himself into a celebrity over the course of decades publishing the once-edgy magazine that covered music and pop culture, is also hoping that some deep pockets will take over the magazine.

Jann Wenner is ending his half-century reign over Rolling Stone — the magazine is going up for sale https://t.co/GA3Svr0WEm

— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 18, 2017

Wenner Media has hired bankers to explore its sale, but the process is just beginning. BandLab’s stake in the company could also complicate matters. Neither Jann nor Gus Wenner would name any potential buyers, but one possible suitor is American Media Inc., the magazine publisher led by David J. Pecker that has already taken Us Weekly and Men’s Journal off Wenner Media’s hands.

The Wenners said that they expected a range of opportunities, and Jann Wenner said he hoped to find a buyer that understood Rolling Stone’s mission and that had “lots of money.”
“Rolling Stone has played such a role in the history of our times, socially and politically and culturally,” he said. “We want to retain that position.”

Yes, who wouldn’t want to buy a magazine with such a rich and storied history of trying to make terrorists into dreamy hipsters?

And let’s not even begin to get into why the magazine is completely in the red. There was the $1 million in damages that Rolling Stone and Wenner Media were held responsible for after the complete self-inflicted disaster of Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s story of a gang rape at the University of Virginia that ended up being completely false, and then retracted by Rolling Stone. (Erdely ended up with a $2 million judgement against her personally, as the author.) Wenner did not come off well in the defamation trial, where both he (as the publisher of the magazine via his company Wenner Media) and Erdely were found liable, with malice.

Rolling Stone also settled the lawsuit against it from the UVA fraternity just this last June for $1.65 million. All those millions sure do add up fast.

And now Wenner thinks his magazine actually still has enough value, amidst declining sales in an increasingly digital market, with all of its debts and damaged reputation, to command a buyer with “lots of money” who will let him and his son continue on at the magazine? Yes, he said that:

Both Jann and Gus Wenner, the president and chief operating officer of Wenner Media, said they intended to stay on at Rolling Stone. But they said they also recognized that the decision could ultimately be up to the new owner.

Greg Gutfeld offered up his thoughts, and what Rolling Stone was actually worth.

Rolling Stone is up for sale. I might buy it just to put actual bands on the cover.

— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) September 18, 2017

Just put a bid in for Rolling Stone: I offered a used Marshall amp, a bowling ball (engraved) and a swag jacket from the tv show Justified.

— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) September 18, 2017

That is still about 74 dollars more than what @Newsweek sold for.

— アーケットシスターズ (@ArquetteSisters) September 18, 2017

Rolling Stone got back to me about my purchase offer. Said if I throw in a bag of viagra and a catheter its a deal.

— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) September 18, 2017

Is anyone actually going to miss Rolling Stone if it isn’t bought and goes under? Given the decline of the magazine medium and the black eye on Rolling Stone itself, I doubt it.