TURNING A PAGE: Rolling Stone’s naming of...

TURNING A PAGE: Rolling Stone’s naming of Request editor Keith Moerer to take over as its music editor caught much of the record industry by surprise last week, because the magazine has rarely gone outside its own staff to fill top editorial positions. The question on many minds: Does this mean a change of direction?

Editor and publisher Jann S. Wenner says no--that the publication, which has been criticized in some quarters in recent years for not keeping ahead of the musical curve, was not looking for dramatic changes when hunting for a new music editor.

“We were looking for the best possible candidate to do the best possible job,” he says. “We are always looking to evolve and change, you know, as the times change and as music changes, but our main desire here is to put out the best music section in the country. And I think we can do that with Keith.”

Will Moerer try to bring some of that sense to Rolling Stone?

Asked about his game plan, Moerer, 37, who was editor of Minneapolis-based Request for six years, simply said, “I hope to build on the changes and improvements that [former music editor] David Fricke made, and make Rolling Stone an even better magazine.”

Record companies seem generally pleased with Moerer’s selection and speculated--some positively, some negatively--that it preserves the status quo at the magazine. “I think the music format is pretty much set in concrete,” observed one independent label representative.