Rolling Stone’s Editor-In-Chief Exits Magazine After Brief Run Over Differences With Top Boss

Noah Shachtman, the hard-charging editor with a talent for scrutinising the wealthy and powerful, said on Friday that he is stepping down as editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone following discussions with the legendary music and culture magazine’s top boss over the publication’s direction.

Shachtman, who will formally step down on March 1, said in a statement that he was “so proud” of everything he and his staff had accomplished during his two-and-a-half-year stint but hinted that he disagreed with Rolling Stone CEO Gus Wenner.

“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,” Shachtman added, highlighting the publication’s recent achievements.

Rolling Stone’s Editor-In-Chief Exits Magazine After Brief Run Over Differences With Top Boss

In a statement to staff, Wenner thanked Shachtman and announced that he would begin looking for a new editor in the coming weeks. However, he stated that he is “in no rush” and that the “team we have in place is exceptional.” Wenner stated that in the interim, Sean Woods, deputy editor, and Lisa Tozzi, digital director, will “take over day-to-day editorial leadership.”

“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,” Wenner wrote in his note to the editor.

Shachtman also stated that although he is stepping down as editor, he will continue contributing to the magazine as a writer.

Rolling Stone’s Editor-In-Chief Exits Magazine After Brief Run Over Differences With Top Boss

“I’ll also be writing for other outlets while I work on a start-up project,” he told me.

When he took over the magazine in 2021, Shachtman, the former editor of The Daily Beast, spoke openly about his desire to change the venerable outlet’s culture to keep up with the digital age, effectively drawing on the playbook he used at The Daily Beast to make the legacy magazine relevant again. He recruited numerous staffers from the punchy digital site he previously ran and expanded the magazine’s coverage to include more political pieces.

Shachtman also stated that under his leadership, Rolling Stone would be fearless in aiming for some of music’s most prominent figures.

Rolling Stone’s Editor-In-Chief Exits Magazine After Brief Run Over Differences With Top Boss

“The new Rolling Stone is going to confront monsters,” Shachtman had declared at the time, “even — especially — if it means confronting monsters the magazine helped elevate.”

Wenner’s father, Jann, a co-founder of Rolling Stone, was chastised last year for statements he made to The New York Times that were widely condemned as sexist and racist. The issue eventually resulted in Jann’s exclusion from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The words were deemed “offensive” by Rolling Stone then, and Shachtman wrote an article on the magazine’s history.

SOURCE – (CNN)