Jann Wenner

Lore & Background

Wenner was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area in a secular Jewish family. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he participated in the Free Speech Movement and wrote a column for the student newspaper. The magazine faced circulation dips in the late 1970s and early 1980s due to slow coverage of punk rock, and again in the 1990s with hip hop. He conducted interviews with figures including Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Barack Obama, and Bono, the latter earning a National Magazine Award nomination. Wenner has faced several controversies.

Reader's Guide

Jann Wenner's significance lies in his role as a co-founder of Rolling Stone, a magazine that became a defining voice in popular culture and music journalism from the late 1960s onward. Through Rolling Stone, Wenner helped launch the careers of influential writers and photographers, shaping how music and politics were covered in the mainstream. His founding of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame further cemented his impact on the music industry's institutional memory. However, his legacy is complicated by controversies: accusations of favoritism in Hall of Fame eligibility, a strained relationship with Hunter S. Thompson, and editorial decisions that critics saw as biased toward commercial success.

Did You Know?

• Wenner avoided the military draft by providing a letter diagnosing him with 'serious personality disorder...with its concomitant history of psychiatric treatment, suicide ideation, homosexual and excessive heterosexual p
• He discovered photographer Annie Leibovitz when she was a 21-year-old student at the San Francisco Art Institute.
• Wenner's interview with Bono received a National Magazine Award nomination.