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Wenner Media

makeovers

Jann Wenner Escapes New York To Play With Cows And Babies Upstate

Aw, Jann Wenner's all growed up and seemingly responsible and stuff! The Rolling Stone publisher magnate wrapped up a deal in December to purchase a Hudson river estate in Tivoli, NY. At the moment, Wenner's on paternity leave while he and his partner adjust to the arrival of their baby twins via surrogate. We're picturing Baby Boom-inspired scenes of Wenner skittering across the frozen tundra to make his burping shift, and the image pleases us immensely. But with this new upstate-refuge-plus-suckling-infants makeover Wenner's got going on, wherever will we go for our dose of raging grandiose megalomaniacal assholery? Oh, erm. For a second we forgot where we lived. Never mind, Jann, nest away. You know, until you think people have forgotten about you, when we're sure you'll execute a perfectly graceful re-entry into Manhattan's orbit.

media megalomaniacs

Jann Wenner Is Preggers! Jann Wenner Says He Is An Extraordinarily Talented, Prescient Individual!

Rolling Stone and Us Weekly owner Jann Wenner and his partner, Matt Nye, (for whom he dropped his wife, Jane) are expecting twins in January, according to Business Week's Jon Fine. The newest little Wenners will join his current army of four. But this party is just beginning—the interview transcript is something to behold. Some highlights! More »

The revolving door at Wenner Media spins again, as Rolling Stone publisher Tim Castelli moves to Google. Associate publisher Ray Chelstowski is expected to be promoted today. [NYP]

media bubble

The $40 Million Question: Define "Nappy"

  • Don Imus' contract with CBS said: "Services to be rendered are of a unique, extraordinary, irreverent, intellectual, topical, controversial, and personal character." Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin thinks that makes Imus's $40 million lawsuit against CBS a bit more plausible. [CNN]
  • Grocery store magnate/alleged Radar investor Ron Burkle in talks to merge with American Media Inc. (Star, National Enquirer, etc.). [NYP]
  • Former Maxim EIC Keith Blanchard has left Wenner Media, where he's been since October. [WWD]
  • Time Warner's cable business is carrying the can for its sorry publishing component. [NYP]
  • Details douchebag Dan Peres rises a bit in our estimation. His take on Mark Whitaker's branding Adam Moss "the new David Remnick": "Remnick is beloved, as you know. It would have been much funnier if it had been about someone we all can't stand." [WWD]
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    rolling stone

    'Rolling Stone' Reality Show Quietly Comes to a Close

    And so, after a summer filled with many a memory and valuable life lessons, the filming of the MTV/Rolling Stone reality show has officially ended. Thanks to the nasty release form that all Wenner Media employees had to sign, gossip coming out of the office has been frighteningly sparse. What we've heard: the intern/contestants aren't particularly talented, but there is a hot blonde chick — you know, MTV's usual "excuse" for programming. More »

    media

    Media Bubble: We Thought He Was Dead

    • Wanna work for Lewis Lapham's new publication, More Soporific Than Ambien Quarterly? Well, don't expect any remuneration or anything. On the plus side, he may let you bum a smoke every now and again. [EH]
    • WWD moves the ball on Wenner's buyback of Us Weekly: It's either "a sign of genius or fear." We just thought it was a sign that Jann likes to throw money around. [WWD]
    • Think your media organization has problems? (Okay, if you're at Wired News, you're right.) Over in London reporters are actually getting arrested. And not in the good Josh Wolf way. [WSJ]
    • Sure, Iran's president is a complete loon who would probably like to see us burning in a lake of fire, but anyone who makes fun of Mike Wallace can't be all bad. [THR]

    media

    Media Bubble: Pretty Girl Makes Grade

    Wenner Media buys out Disney's share of Us Weekly. We're not sure why this is important, but the folks at WWD thought it merited an e-mail alerting us to it, so what the hell. [WWD]
    • Asking a quarter for Keith Kelly's work always struck as a stretch; $950 is too much for even Kelly himself. [NYP, third item]
    • When Jon Friedman says it's time to give someone her due, well, it's time to give her her due. Okay: Maria Bartiromo is both cute as a button and a well-known business journalist! Just out of curiosity, how does this shit keep getting linked on Romenesko? [Marketwatch]

    wenner media

    If You See Theo Around the Office, Say a Friendly Hello

    Hello there, laddy! The strapping young buck at right is Theo Wenner, son of Jann and Jane Wenner and Rolling Stone photo intern extraordinaire. It's hard to know much more about Theo as his Facebook profile can only be viewed by his 131 friends (popular!), but some commenters have noted that he's the co-creator of SelfPortrait.net, loves the Ramones and identifies himself with Bard '05 when he's actually in the class of '09 (so punk, dude). He loves Fellini and included amongst his heroes is Abe Lincoln — you know, reminds him of Dad. More »

    interns

    Children of the Ruling Class: Theo Wenner Assumes the Position

    The only surprise about Jann Wenner's 19-year-old son Theo spending the summer as a Rolling Stone photo intern is the news that Jann has a son named Theo. Presumably short for Theodore, but still — Theo? Was "Cliff" not available? More »

    crazy us weekly guy

    Crazy 'Us Weekly' GuyTM Knows that Celebrity Weeklies Are the 'Life Matrix'


    In today's edition of Crazy Us Weekly GuyTM — the delightful fellow who speaks to God, is soulmates with Jessica Alba, and just wants us to help him get in touch with Us EIC Janice Min so that he might fulfill his destiny of being #2 at the celebrity weekly — we move away from the creepier aspects of CUWGTM's obsession with Alba and more towards how Min and Us can make his dream a reality. After the jump, excerpts from Parts IV - VI, plus his thoughts on the future. More »

    rolling stone

    Naming Names: The MTV-Approved 'Rolling Stone' Interns

    The interns for the Rolling Stone/MTV reality show (can we please get a name for that thing already?) are doing more than just sweating it out at Coney Island and mugging for the camera — they're learning about "reporting" as well. Some might even call it real writing! On RS' website, the Live Shows index features tons of blurby reviews, many of which are written by MTV's would-be journos. A review of Denmark's Roskilde Festival (can't wait for that wild-n-crazy episode) is written by Krishtine de Leon, Pete Maiden, Tika Milan, Russell Morse, Krystal Simpson and Colin Stutz — we already know Russell Morse is on the show, and Krystal Simpson is probably the real name of faux-Sienna Krys Jagger (there, there, it's okay: we're just as upset as you to learn that she's not actually rock royalty). Krishtine and Pete are rumored to be cast members, and a quick Google confirms that Tika is also part of the show. If Colin Stutz is also one of Jann's precious coterie, then that would account for all 6 interns. More »

    rolling stone

    'Rolling Stone' Reality Show Forces Contestants to Go to Coney Island

    The Village Voice held its annual Siren Fest in the midst of Saturday's ghastly heat, sending hipsters and freeloaders alike to Coney Island for five-plus hours of melanoma-stoking sunshine. As Siren is a major music event 'round these parts, Rolling Stone and MTV would certainly be remiss if they didn't send their latest batch of ratings slaves to the show; above, contestants from the RS/MTV reality show learn about the tough world of music journalism and boom mics. Not quite sure who's who except for the token hottie-with-a-Sienna-complex Krys Jagger — though names don't really matter. They're all the same menial flashes in Jann Wenner's pan, dutifully serving themselves up for oblivion. (But seriously, do you think the blonde one hooked up with the lead singer of the Stills?) More »

    mtv

    Inconsequential Dispatches From the 'Rolling Stone' Reality Show

    Thanks to those pesky non-disclosure agreements, not a lot of information is coming out of the Wenner Media offices, where MTV is currently filming the Rolling Stone reality show. But there are some details dribbling from Jann's tightly clenched fist: there are only six contestants, and three of them are absolutely hopeless, clearly cast as the proverbial "stupids" necessary for any successful reality competition. There's also one clear front-runner, a fellow talented enough that he has no business on a show designed for special-needs journos. More »

    us weekly

    After the Bomb, Only Roaches and 'Us Weekly' Will Survive

    When you're packing together a double issue and taking the next week off, how do you leave your readers? At the Observer, it's with an incredibly long profile of Us Weekly editor Janice Min. The piece seems to appear apropos nothing new other than that, well, she's back from maternity leave and, dammit, Us Weekly is good. It's the summer — that's a good enough peg, right? More »

    rolling stone

    There's Only One Magazine at Wenner


    We mentioned last week that in honor of the MTV camera crews, the front desk at Wenner Media had been emblazoned with a Rolling Stone logo, despite the fact that Us Weekly and Men's Journal both work in that very space. Now, some visual proof and a reminder to the editors of those other, lesser magazines: you really need to put down those drafts and get to work. The Rolling Stone assistants need their coffee. More »

    rolling stone

    Tips and Tricks for Your 'Rolling Stone' Internship

    A handful of desperately nervous geniuses are getting little sleep these days; they're the "chosen ones," the not-necessarily-bright young things selected to compete on a MTV reality show for a Rolling Stone internship. It's practically identical to MTV's earlier magazine internship reality competition, Miss Seventeen, only with a barely perceptible recast of the lead editorial megalomaniac. Thus it'd be wise for the geniuses on the latest show to take a lesson from Miss Seventeen contestant Brianne Burrowes, who quit the show after three episodes, blubbering that she didn't want "to be affiliated with a house of liars." Harsh, but that blow was considerably softened by Burrowes' other quotables: "Atoosa is, like, who I want to be"; another contestant noted that for Burrowes, meeting Rubenstein was "like meeting Jesus." Clearly, Rubenstein would be a selfless fool to let these comments go unheeded — even though Burrowes didn't win the MTV competition, she still scored a summer internship after taping was completed. More »

    village voice

    Gawker's Week in Review: A Moment of Silence for Erik Wemple

    • The Village Voice's new EIC Erik Wemple changes his mind, quitting the gig before he had technically started. Not surprisingly, the New Times has fucked things beyond repair.
    Britney Spears assures Matt Lauer and the world that she's just as pathetic as we all suspected, if not worse. (YouTube then slaps us and takes away our video.)
    • Finally, Page Six finds someone to accept their job offer, it's just not who you'd expect: Post City desker Bill Hoffman.
    • Hour Media buys Absolute; the mag's audience of rich people shrug, go about with their usual, rich-people lives.
    • Rite-Aid removes Shock from its newsstands, arguing that the magazine clashed with the drugstore's Danielle Steel selection.
    • MTV begins filming its reality show in the offices of Rolling Stone; Men's Journal and Us Weekly staffs are promptly forgotten.
    • Rocco DiSpirito refuses to disappear.
    • Now that Ellen Barkin has removed her balcony's privacy fence, neighbors are easily treated to a night of watching her kids drink bongwater.
    • AMI plans to sell off five of its lackluster titles, if only so the company can afford Bonnie Fuller's driver.
    • Beyonce graces the cover of Spin, and it's overwhelmingly clear why Andy Pemberton was sacked.
    • Hell has a zipcode, and it's 02138.
    • Nothing's the same, not even the simple things.

    rolling stone

    'Rolling Stone' Reality TV Twits Invade Today

    rslogo.pngThe interns are coming, the interns are coming! The poor bastards selected by MTV to compete for a Rolling Stone internship arrive at Wenner Media today, bringing with them some camera-ready, wide-eyed naivete and obnoxious behavior. Please, please someone tell us what they're wearing. And what they say. And what they do. And whether or not they make a mess on their desks. More »