30 Jann Wenner Quotes On Music, Media, and Controversy

Jann Wenner is an American media mogul and businessman best known as the co-founder of the popular culture magazine Rolling Stone. He played a pivotal role in shaping the world of modern music journalism. Here are the best Jann Wenner quotes from the mind of the media visionary who had a great impact on the field of of journalism and entertainment.

Jane Wenner was popularly known for co-founding Rolling Stone magazine, which became an iconic publication for generations of music enthusiasts.

His visionary approach and passion for music gained his magazine a reputation for its insightful interviews, in-depth music criticism, and innovative coverage of social and political issues.

Additionally, he co-founded the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and established other publications. Despite his success, controversy emerged regarding Hall of Fame eligibility favoritism and criticism that his magazine’s reviews were biased.

This controversy escalated, particularly after the New York Times published an interview in which he argued that female and Black artists “didn’t articulate” at the “intellectual level” of their white male counterparts.

This statement led to his quick removal from the board of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation the day after the interview was published.

The comments received widespread criticism, prompting Wenner to issue an apology statement through his publisher.

Here is a list of inspirational Jann Wenner quotes and sayings that will give you insight into the mind of a media visionary who has shaped the dynamic world of journalism and entertainment.

Top 10 Jann Wenner Quotes

  1. “There’s a level of immaturity to people who just can’t clean up after themselves.” — Jann Wenner                  

    Best Jann Wenner Quotes
    Best Jann Wenner Quotes
  2. “Being yourself is one of the greatest things you can possibly do. Being true to yourself.” — Jann Wenner  

    Jann Wenner Quotes
    Jann Wenner Quotes
  3. “I’m a neat freak… It seems to me that an orderly desk is reflective of an orderly and organized mind, you know?” — Jann Wenner                                                                                                                                       

    Quotes By Jann Wenner
    Quotes By Jann Wenner
  4. “To rush to throw away your magazine business and move it on the iPad is just sheer insanity and insecurity and fear.” — Jann Wenner                                                                                                                                         

    Quotes By Jann Wenner
    Quotes By Jann Wenner
  5. “The most important thing a magazine can do online is maintain its brand and be very strong in terms of delivering on that brand.” — Jann Wenner
  6. “Now all of a sudden, I was on the streets of Berkeley, in a world of radicals, Hell’s Angels, harmonica queens, drug dealers, and dope kings.” — Jann S. Wenner
  7. “Magazines that depend on photography, and design, and long reads, and quality stuff, are going to do just fine despite the Internet and cable news.” — Jann Wenner                                                                                       

    Jann Wenner Quote
    Jann Wenner Quote
  8. “I have more fun hanging out with my friends who are musicians and rock stars. You know politicians by and large are pretty stiff, pretty rehearsed.” — Jann Wenner
  9. “I don’t read Rolling Stone that much. I don’t read that many magazines. It’s about people I’m not personally interested in. I don’t really care for K-pop. I don’t really know who Cardi B is.” — Jann Wenner
  10. “It’s a daily miracle to see a child grow and develop all the senses and language and speech and faculties, and they’re so much fun and they’re so delightful and they’re so innocent. It just stops your heart every time; I can’t get enough of it.” — Jann Wenner

Famous Quotes By Jann S. Wenner

  1. “Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer got into a fistfight.” — Jann S. Wenner
  2. “and the lawyers, as usual, got the money, far, far more than anyone else did.” — Jann S. Wenner, Like a Rolling Stone: A Memoir
  3. “The Who played the entire rock opera Tommy at Radio City Music Hall as a benefit for the Hall of Fame and gave us a check for $1 million.” — Jann S. Wenner
  4. “Suddenly you’re scrounging for your next meal, but “say, do you want to make a deal?” There’s fear in that line, in that melody, in that voice.” — Jann S. Wenner
  5. “The Hall of Fame concert was shown on HBO over Thanksgiving, and the next day Dylan called. “How come I wasn’t there? Those were my people. I should have been there.” — Jann S. Wenner
  6. “When I started Rolling Stone in November 1967, the magazine’s initial chapter was to cover rock & roll music with intelligence and respect. Even then, we knew that the fervor sweeping our generation encompassed more than just music.” — Jann Wenner
  7. “My personal mindblower was “Desolation Row,” but the song that cut the deepest was “Like a Rolling Stone.” The song was about discovering what was actually going on around you, realizing that life isn’t all that you’ve been told it is.” — Jann S. Wenner
  8. “I don’t believe that there’s such a thing as objectivity in much of journalism, but I think there is a serious effort to and a regard for facts and into taking that stuff seriously is very important to the public discourse and it’s very important to democracy.” — Jann Wenner

Jann Wenner Quotes

  1. “He said, “Jerry and Abbie couldn’t organize a luncheon, much less a revolution.” — Jann S. Wenner
  2. “He wanted to know what I thought. It was the opening of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It was sharp and insane.” — Jann S. Wenner
  3. “The first glimpse of Neverland was like arriving at a mini-Disneyland. The first guests I saw were Nancy Reagan chatting with Merv Griffin.” — Jann S. Wenner
  4. “Inside Yoko’s apartment was a world of Dalís, Magrittes, and Egyptian sarcophagi. The shades were shut, blocking the views of Central Park.” — Jann S. Wenner
  5. “The Warhol scene in general was plastic anathema to us nature-loving San Francisco hippies, but seen in his natural habitat, New York City, Warhol made sense.” — Jann S. Wenner
  6. “Tom Wolfe, of all people, was the first person who ever told me about rap music. He liked to go to Harlem and the Bronx to watch the crews battle it out, and he was writing rap lyrics of his own.” — Jann S. Wenner
  7. “I was trying to find a paradigm for “rock and roll values.” I asked Jerry Garcia for advice on how big an organization should get. He said I should stop hiring people once I started not remembering everyone’s name.” — Jann S. Wenner
  8. “After the wedding Michael invited me to tour his private amusement park. We got on a mini-train that took us to another part of the property, another world that had rides, attendants on duty, a merry-go-round, and a Ferris wheel. It was nighttime.” — Jann S. Wenner

More Jann Wenner Quotes

  1. “The key line is “You’re invisible now, you’ve got no secrets to conceal” — Jann S. Wenner
  2. “The challenges are different to different kinds of magazines. News magazines, magazines that have high frequency and news, are going to be challenged, heavily challenged, not just by the Internet but by the whole 24-hour news cycle which has just been getting enhanced.” — Jann Wenner
  3. “I began my research by taking Diana Ross to lunch. She said she couldn’t help me; she barely knew Michael. The story about her discovering the Jackson 5 was made up, as was the idea that she had mothered him at Motown.” — Jann S. Wenner
  4. “I had asked Hunter once, when he was in a rare calm mood, ‘Do you know when you’re about to change? Are you aware of it?’ Hunter said, ‘Sandy, do you know what it’s like? I’m just standing here, and I have a sense that something is about to happen. And then I start to turn my head, and it’s here. The monster’s here.” — Jann S. Wenner

More About Jann Wenner

Jann Simon Wenner is an American businessman who is a co-founder of the popular culture magazine Rolling Stone, and former owner of Men’s Journal magazine.

Apart from being a popular media figure, Wenner has also authored “Like a Rolling Stone”, which became a best seller.

He has also written “The Masters” that consists of interviews that he conducted during his Rolling Stone years with rock legends like Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Bono and others

Conclusion

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