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A day after the publication of a New York Times interview in which Rolling Stone magazine founder Jane Weiner said that black and female musicians “didn’t show clarity on the level” of white musicians featured in her new book of interviews, The Rock and Roll. The Hall of Fame announced that he had been removed from its board of directors.
“Jane Weiner has been removed from the Board of Directors of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation,” a terse statement from a representative read in full; Contacted by diversity, A representative for Hall had no further comment.
Wenner is a co-founder of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which was launched in 1987, and served as its chairman until 2020. The Rock Hall Foundation and the museum have separate boards, but Wenner was not on the latter.
Representatives for Wenner did not immediately respond DiversityRequests for comment.
Times writer Dave Marchese asked why Weiner did not include any people of color or female musicians in “The Masters,” which featured interviews with white, male musicians including Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Bruce Wayne, and others. Springsteen, Pete Townshend and U2’s Bono, all of whom Rolling Stone long celebrated under Wenner’s editorial direction.
“It’s not that they don’t have creative talent. It’s not that they’re obscure, though, so deep in conversation with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. Please be my guest. You know, Johnny [Mitchell] Rock ‘n’ roll was not a philosopher. She didn’t meet that test, in my mind. Not through her work, not through other interviews she’s done. The people I interviewed were philosophers of rock,” Weiner said. “Black artists — you know, Stevie Wonder, the geniuses, right? I suppose when you use a broad term like ‘masters,’ that term is used to blame. Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield? I mean. , they just weren’t clarifying at that level.
“I mean, look at what Pete Townshend writes about, or Jagger, or any of them,” he continued. “They were deep things about a certain generation, a certain spirit and a certain attitude about rock ‘n’ roll. Not that there weren’t others, but these were the ones that could really articulate it.”
Wenner, who founded Rolling Stone in 1967 and served as its editor or editorial director until 2019, added that he could have reconsidered his decision and “just for the sake of public relations, maybe I should go and do a black and a A woman artist should be met. Just to avoid this kind of criticism, include here not measured up to the same historical standard. Which, I realize. I had the opportunity to do that. Maybe I’m old-fashioned and I don’t give a damn. [expletive] or whatever. I wish in retrospect I could have interviewed Marvin Gaye. Maybe it was the guy. Maybe Otis Redding, if he were alive, would be that guy.” Not surprisingly, Weiner received a stream of negative comments online after the interview was published.
In the interview, Wenner also made several controversial comments about his own editorial policies, admitting that he allowed his interview subjects to edit transcripts of interviews with him before publication, including an explosive 1970 interview with John Lennon.
Wenner stepped down from Rolling Stone in 2019, a few months after the publication was fully acquired by Penske Media Corporation. In December 2017, PMC acquired a controlling interest in Rolling Stone’s parent company Wenner Media at a valuation of just over $100 million, according to sources close to the transaction. He is the editorial director of Wenner Media. is also the parent company of PMC Diversity.
