JOUR 61: Magazine

The magazine that I’m going to discuss is Rolling Stone. The magazine has been running for over 40 years and is the bottom line in pop culture. The main target group of the magazine is young people, however not exclusively so. The content is primarily focused on music. They have regular interviews with some of the biggest names in music and include news on the industry and reviews of the latest releases. Whilst many of the artists featured are those popular among the 18-30 generation they also heavily feature artists that are favored by the older generation, such as the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.

As well as music, Rolling Stone also covers movies, television and current affairs. The current affairs section is written in a way that is accessible to younger people who perhaps are not regular readers of political news in newspapers. Furthermore, the current affairs articles are certainly left leaning in their content and often focus on issues that will be of concern to the youth.

Today, the magazine focuses very much on the mainstream culture. In the earlier days it was more on the cutting edge of popular culture and getting on the cover of Rolling Stone was something that was highly revered. Some of the aura of the magazine has definitely disappeared since those times. However, I still enjoy it because of the cross section of popular culture that they cover and some of the interviews and features they have. I also think they do an excellent job of reporting and explaining the latest news within the music industry. This is very relevant at the moment because of how new media is currently changing the entire fabric of the business.