Rolling Stone - Renewed Relevance

Renewed Relevance

After years of declining readership, the magazine experienced a major resurgence of interest and relevance with the work of two young journalists in the late 2000s: Michael Hastings and Matt Taibbi.

In 2009, Taibbi unleashed a scathing series of acclaimed reporting on the financial meltdown. He famously dubbed Goldman Sachs "The Great Vampire Squid."

Bigger headlines came at the end of June 2010. Rolling Stone caused a controversy in the White House by publishing in the July issue an article by journalist Michael Hastings, entitled, "The Runaway General", quoting criticism of General Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of the International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan commander, about Vice President Joe Biden and other Administration members of the White House. McChrystal resigned from his position shortly after his statements went public.

In 2010, Taibbi documented illegal and fraudulent actions by banks in the foreclosure courts after traveling to Jacksonville, Florida and sitting in on hearings in the courtroom. His article, Invasion of the Home Snatchers also documented attempts by the judge to intimidate a homeowner fighting foreclosure and the attorney Taibbi accompanied into the court.

In January 2012, the magazine ran exclusive excerpts from Hastings' book just prior to publication. The book, The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan, provided a much more expansive look at McChrystal and the culture of senior American military and how they get embroiled in these wars. It has been described as a boozy, sexy account of the misadventures of America's most notorious killers. The book reached Amazon's bestseller list in the first 48 hours of release, and it received generally favorable reviews. Salon's Glenn Greenwald described it as "superb," "brave" and "eye-opening."

In 2012 financial scandals also continued to rock the world. Taibbi emerged as an expert who could explain the events as they unfolded. His articles garnered him invitations to nationally broadcast television programs. In a July discussion of the Libor revelations, Taibbi's coverage was singled out by Dennis Kelleher, president of Better Markets, Inc., as becoming required reading to remain informed.