Rolling Stone

U.S. left

Background

Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in November 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason with roughly $7,500 in borrowed money. It began as a counterculture rock-music magazine and expanded through the 1970s and 1980s to cover politics and long-form journalism, becoming known for writers like Hunter S. Thompson. The magazine developed a consistently left-leaning political orientation and has endorsed Democratic presidential nominees including Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Kamala Harris in 2024. Financial difficulties in the 21st century led Wenner to sell a 49 percent stake to Singapore-based BandLab Technologies in 2016 for roughly $40 million, then a 51 percent controlling stake to Penske Media Corporation in 2017; PMC bought out BandLab's remaining interest in 2019, giving it full ownership. A major credibility crisis struck in 2014–2015 when the magazine retracted a widely read story about an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia; an independent review by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism found serious reporting failures, and resulting lawsuits produced settlements totaling several million dollars. Multiple press-bias monitors, including Media Bias/Fact Check and AllSides, rate Rolling Stone as left-leaning, a characterization consistent with its editorial record of strongly criticizing Republican administrations and supporting progressive causes.

Sources

1. Rolling Stone – Wikipedia
2. PMC Takes Full Ownership of Rolling Stone – Billboard
3. Penske Media Buys Remaining 49% of Rolling Stone – Deadline
4. Rolling Stone – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
5. RollingStone.com Media Bias Rating – AllSides
6. Rolling Stone Retracts Debunked UVA Rape Story – NBC News
7. Trump's Shockingly Lawless Second Term – Rolling Stone

Profile compiled 2026-07-03; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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