♪ announcer: from our studios in new york city, this is "charlie rose." charlie: we begin in the middle east and with the gulf state. last week, five middle eastern states, egypt, saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, and yemen severed ties with qatar. the goal was to isolate the country politically and economically for its alleged support of terrorism. the standoff that the u.s. in a difficult position, since both sides are american allies, and the u.s. has 10,000 troops in qatar. the state department has offered a resolution but it has not been , accepted. joining us is sheikh hamad bin jassim bin jaber al-thani, the

former prime minister of qatar, and a close friend of the president and his father. i am pleased to have him at the table. welcome. the president of the united states visits saudi arabia, announces he fully supports saudi arabia and the emirates, and others efforts to isolate iran. several days later, we have an announcement that these arab states want to isolate qatar. they connected? what's going on? sheikh hamad al-thani: simply, we have been caught by surprise. conferencent to the and i think we had a good meeting with the president. there are always issues between our two countries are other countries, and it has been solved through the right channels. for us, isolating iran, or

isolating qatar, they are now saying we have a very special relation and sympathy with iran and terrorism, and financing terrorism. first of all with iran, if you take it from commercial base, which is very important, qatar may be 1% in 1000 compared to the other gulf states of their trade with iran. even in syria, we are in a different position with the iranian and syrian war. and with bashar al-assad and his people. so the connection, yes, we have continued to have a normal and good relations with iran because they are a neighbor, and it's not only the gcc countries with normal relationships, but do we have a special relation with iran? again, that is our gcc aligned brother, that is completely false.

if we are talking about terrorism, qatar is a partner with the united states. after 9/11, your troops came in one day to qatar and used all of our facilities before we had this big base. we facilitated that overnight. remember when bin laden said no islamic should have american troops, but we received all your troops at that time. we took all the planes. from that time, we were your partner fighting in afghanistan, iraq, yemen, and elsewhere. from our base. we were taking the full security for your guys, which they are there all these years. we have been caught by surprise to say that we are supporting terrorism. what terrorism are we supporting? charlie: that is what they say, that you are supporting the muslim brotherhood.

egypt was a member of this isolate qatar. , clearly, the muslim brotherhood has a conflict with the present government. the muslim brotherhood is in jordan. ,ome of those arab countries they have strong feelings against the muslim brotherhood and say qatar supports them and hamas. thirdly, they say qatar supports iran and some behaviors they don't approve of. those are just some of the items they listed as to why you are not on board with isolating iran and you are on board with supporting terrorism. sheikh hamad al-thani: who is isolating iran in the gulf? did they close diplomatic ties and then we opposed that? they did not bring it to the gcc to close their embassies in iran or close embassies of iran from the gcc.

charlie: gcc is the gulf countries consulate. sheikh hamad al-thani: yes. nobody even brought that thinking, to close embassies. if they want to, it would be part of the gcc, but it's not happening. when you are talking about the islamic brotherhood and egypt, islamic brotherhood is a big name with varieties. some of them are part of the nation everywhere, and in the parliament of some countries. some of them use aggression, which we don't agree with them. some of them are peaceful. we need to identify -- myself, i

-- but the take that reason against qatar,? how are we to support them president ceci and army throw them out. fine. for us, our amir, he was one of the first people to support sisi. but their problem, they had so many problems inside. do you think qatar has the capability for the economic situation as for what it was or what it was in egypt, despite all the billions being given from other brothers in the region? i'm not sure -- the egyptians need to work inside egypt more and to do what they need to do.

i wish to see egypt as one of the strongest countries in the world, because it's one of the biggest arab nations. they have a strong army. we need that. it's important for the arab nations to work. in tunisia, there was an islamic government, and they have been taken out by the election, and another government comes. look how we are working with other governments that are not islamic brotherhood's we support them financially. the biggest financial support for tunisia comes from qatar. that means they are not muslim brotherhood. we are supporting the stability of any region asking us for help. what is the benefit of a small monarchy like qatar to support -- to destabilize egypt or any other country by muslim brotherhood's or any other groups? if you took somebody with a reasonable mind, they would not

believe so. charlie: what do you think is at heart here? what is the reason for this coming now? there has been an ongoing conversation about some countries not approving of the fact that qatar tried to play both sides. it had friends on both sides. even questions have been raised about how much funding qatar has done to some of the islamic groups in syria. sheikh hamad al-thani: look, in syria, everybody made mistakes including your country. ,when the war or revolution happened in syria, all of us worked in two operational rooms. one in jordan and one in turkey. the first was in jordan. there were countries, some of the gcc countries among them, saudis, camaraderie -- emirati, iraqis, qatar, the u.s., and other allies, working from there.

we were all supporting the same group. in turkey, we did the same. we discovered by that time that some groups have other agendas. we eliminate them one by one. always when we have the information from our friends that it is not good, you support the wrong group sometimes. but you stop. it does not mean we did not do something wrong. but intentionally did we do that? that is not true. what is the reason? if they are finished with syria, they would come to us. we know that. charlie: the terrorist organizations? sheikh hamad al-thani: of course. they would come to us. that's normal. do you think we are out of the threat? we are not. charlie: is the principal conflict in the region today saudi versus iran? sheikh hamad al-thani: i think there are a few problems in the region. one of them is ok.

iran did not behave, i think there's no doubt. i said this two months ago at a speech at a university in doha, and i said this in another speech in london. i always say iran is shaking the stability of the region by doing things in yemen, in syria, in lebanon, in iraq. if we need to fight iran, we have to be more intelligent. i do not mean fighting them by weapons. i mean fighting them with the brain. the problem is we don't have a strategy in the gcc. we have an initiative sometimes taken. these are sometimes taken because of certain things happening here or there, so we take initiatives to counter that. the problem, we need stability

in our mind so we can find a way , to counter the attack that happens in the region and not let them interfere. by isolating kislyak -- by iflating qatar, for example i call any other countries to the region, you will say you will bring them inside if i want to defend myself. is that what they want, to push qatar in the war? the sovereignty of qatar is the most important thing for us, and the integrity. that we will defend until the last minute. the problem that all these allegations or talks about qatar, they have no solid base. nobody has told us a case that someone financed another.

we found this list of who they support. did they send it to the right channel last month or the month before, or six months ago and our people denied it? they did not show us this list. they created this list lately. maybe it's right. maybe there are some people on the list, we need to look at their faces. but is this the right way? where is the international law if they cut you off from food, if they cut your families? there are a lot of cases. sea.ey cut the air, the charlie: these are all things they said they would do. sheikh hamad al-thani: they did. already been done. when this is done together, you and everyone says this is not right, and there was a war between israel and palestine. charlie: tell me more about the impact on qatar that has happened since they announced there would be this effort to isolate qatar. what has been the impact? sheikh hamad al-thani: what i am

proud about in the people of qatar is that they support his because, fully support, they know he was honest and sincere and tried to build an excellent relationship when he came to power, with his neighbor. and by doing this, they do not give him the chance. they disappoint all the people of qatar and the majority of the gcc people did not agree with that act. if you tell me this is the biggest of the people that have been hurt, tell me, there is a constitution in the gcc. did they use the constitution? did they meet and accuse qatar of something? did we see the secretary-general of the gcc say something? charlie: they did not have those. sheikh hamad al-thani: nothing like this has been done. we cannot rely on the gcc in the

future if the big countries have a difference with somebody, and they will do what they need to do without the gcc. , wespect king salman respect saudi arabia, and we will continue to respect them. but this act has changed a lot of situations among all the gcc members. charlie: in what way? sheikh hamad al-thani: in a way that this could have been any reason. if any leader wakes up in the morning and decides he wants to cut the border between him and another country, he will do it for a reason or no reason. that means there's no stability in this constitution. in these six countries. it means they are not together. imagine if there is a problem between european countries, like germany and lithuania, or any

small country in the european community do you think they , would shut the border or discuss it in the european union and see the mistakes, and take necessary actions? none of this happened. the big problem, the americans, the allies for both sides, they are not clear on how to handle the problem. they should be more fair to look at the problem and try to see if there is something to be solved. charlie: two questions. you believe the saudis are behind this? sheikh hamad al-thani: we announced, not just believe. they announced this. until now, i know something, but the size, the magnitude of this, it's not justified. charlie: what is the united states doing, and has the united states changed its position since the initial announcement

of this effort to isolate? president trump said in the rose garden conference with the visiting president of romania that the saudi led action against qatar was hard but necessary. he clearly has staked his lot with the saudis in the battle of iran. but then you have the secretary of state who has seemed to want to mediate, seems to want to figure out a solution to this that is better than the reality on the ground today. sheikh hamad al-thani: i think any mediator should look at the matter from both sides equally until he has the right evidence. that is one thing. second thing, the president of the united states, which i respect him, i think he takes measures without having the right evidence against qatar. i think the united states, as

the superpower in the world, should be more thoughtful when they take measures like this or support others to take measure. charlie: so you are criticizing washington for going along with this without finding out more information? sheikh hamad al-thani: i criticize them because they are our ally and friends, and we expect friends to be fair. not to help us, but to be fair. we did a lot of things with the americans together in fighting terrorism, and other things for a more peaceful region. charlie: are those things at risk now? sheikh hamad al-thani: i am not a person authorized -- i am not in the government to say if it would affect or not, but the people of qatar, the normal people, have been hurt, because they think the u.s. should look at this. i have no doubt that in the end

the united states will do the right thing. i have no doubt. i will tell you why. this country has institutions, they look at them and find that we have been taken, assumptions or theories that are not right. charlie: is there any part of the qatari government and the emir, that because this has happened, they have to rethink their policies that might have given rise to the perception that qatar was supporting iran and extremism and terrorism? sheikh hamad al-thani: qatar supporting iran is a big joke, first of all. a big joke. i want them to tell me when we have supported iran. when?

there are no events. we have normal relations, but we are not on the top of the list of relations with iran. we are not on the top list. if we are on the top, we would not fight with them in syria. that is totally a joke, in my opinion. charlie: if you had a relationship with iran, you would join hezbollah in supporting serial? sheikh hamad al-thani: of course. charlie: but you did not. sheikh hamad al-thani: exactly. but the problem, if it is because of iran, we are ready to open session and discuss it. but the case is there are some countries in the region that want to dictate their policy with other countries, which we cannot take as a country. we are a sovereign country, independent country, and we have the right to do our own policy if it goes with international

law and normal practices. charlie: how serious a crisis do you view this? sheikh hamad al-thani: it is serious in the matter that there is a big crack in the gcc. i don't know how it will be rebuilt. charlie: but it could affect u.s. relationships with qatar? sheikh hamad al-thani: i don't want to jump to that, more than it is a hurt. we feel we have been hurt. but let us not jump to this conclusion, because we took the foreign minister tillerson's announcement, and we will listen if they want to mediate. the emir is respected by all the gcc countries.

i think between him and the united states, i have hope that we will come to conclusions, and the criticizing of qatar has no basis. charlie: it is said that after our president tweeted some things, that president putin of russia telephoned your emir. position.ssia's is that correct? sheikh hamad al-thani: this is what has been said, but let me tell you one thing. if we spoke with the russians, i think they would say that we also have dealings with russia. the problem now, if we want you sides,air between both you are not listening to one

side. if somebody else wants to talk nicely about us or wants to help in this crisis, will you take them up -- they should not go to the russians? imagine if we went to russia to solve the problem what would , americans say? they would say qatar allowed russian interference. tell me how we can solve the problem with keeping the integrity of qatar. charlie: you seem to be saying this is a grave injustice to the people of qatar. a humanitarian crisis having to do with food and other issues. qatar happened to have the highest per capita income of any country in the world, because of the size of its population and its wealth. it seems to me you are saying that the way out of this is through washington. that washington has to intervene and use some influence with the

gcc that it has, especially because of president trump's visit to saudi arabia. is that correct? sheikh hamad al-thani: it is correct but not fully correct. , washington is an important element in this, definitely for all the gcc countries. all the gcc countries have a special relationship with washington. your interference, of course, will help, if it is in the right way. also, as i mentioned, kuwait is doing a good job. the emir visited there and try -- the three countries and tried to listen to what the problem is. charlie: he has visited saudi arabia and abu dhabi? and qatar. so what remains to be done? what is the way out? sheikh hamad al-thani: i believe the way out, if we activate the gcc first of all, because the gcc right now is frozen.

charlie: it is not functioning. sheikh hamad al-thani: not functioning. the second thing is the united states, as allies for all the countries in the gcc, they have to stand the same distance from the problem from everyone. if there's any problem, the qataris will not be hesitating to say if there is a mistake. and we will correct it. charlie: including anybody who alleges there is support of terrorism. whether you didn't knowingly or not. sheikh hamad al-thani: definitely. we will not be shy from this. it is not our intention and will not be our intention. but you have to show me evidence. if you go to any court today, they need to see evidence. they need to see something to talk about it. right now, everybody is saying we are supporting terrorism or financing. ok, show me one case. show me anything.

also, if you have a case -- charlie: how much financial support are you giving to hamas, who some people and others don't characterize as terrorism? -- as a terrorist? sheikh hamad al-thani: hamas, everyone knows we help with electricity in gaza. everyone knows. the united nations knows. the israelis know. sometimes you bring the electricity from israel. the houses that were damaged in 2005, we built some of the houses, and we build hospitals, and some other things that were damaged. charlie: in gaza. sheikh hamad al-thani: yes. everybody appreciated that, because that relieves hostility in gaza little bit. the gcc countries also pledged money for gaza in 2005.

there was an international conference to pledge for gaza at that time. that is known and that is public. when you say about hamas, let me tell you a little information. when there was an election in palestine, the first election, the americans at that time pushed us to talk with hamas to let them participate in the election, because they want them to be -- charlie: and it was successful -- sheikh hamad al-thani: that's their own problem. if you tell me they are dealing with taliban, the five guys from taliban from the united states, -- charlie: the exchange for the prisoner. sheikh hamad al-thani: also, they are negotiating with the taliban. charlie: and they are still in doha. sheikh hamad al-thani: yes. this is your request.

i am sure our people would be happy if you want them back or take them someplace else. i'm not talking on behalf of the government. charlie: but they are still in doha, under surveillance. sheikh hamad al-thani: the people know that more than the qataris, where they are and what is done. your people know that. charlie: so was there any evidence of a disruption in the relationship between the united states and qatar before this event? none. so as far as you were concerned the relationship between qatar , and the u.s., because of their issues,irbase and other was just fine. sheikh hamad al-thani: it was fine, and we believe it will stay fine, because despite this problem -- i am sure that when the people in washington know the causes, they will be fair to , this is not exactly like we

think or have been told. charlie: when you leave new york, where are you going? sheikh hamad al-thani: i will be here around. i will see some friends in washington for a few days. then back home. charlie: thank you for coming. pleasure to have you. back in a moment. stay with us. ♪ ♪

charlie: in 1967, a 21-year-old

music fan named jann wenner launched a rock 'n roll newspaper with $7,500 he scraped together from a few friends. he called it "rolling stone." in the following years it would become iconic as the stars it covered. it also became a destination for talent of the day attracting the , likes of annie leibovitz. hunter s thompson, who contributed to rolling stone freight 20 years, said i was ass, and range to kick very few places will give you that. in addition to being the cofounder and editor, he's the head of the parent group. wenner, i am pleased to have them both at this table to mark the occasion. 50 years of "rolling stone." what an amazing journey it has been through american culture and politics and personalities.

way back then, what were you thinking? jann: i was a rock 'n roll fan. i wanted to have something to do with the music. when i saw how much enjoyment it was giving me, i quickly found out i wasn't going to be in a band. what i kind of knew how to do is journalism. i worked on a college and high school newspaper. it seemed the way in. there was no good magazine or outlet about rock 'n roll and what it had become. it was starting to be about something. there was a social purpose as well as high-quality music, and it wasn't just a phenomenon for teenage girls. we started taking music on its own terms, and respecting what the musicians were intending, and we were covering that. we were like evangelists. early on, we thought we should carry what musicians wanted to say, what they wanted to

communicate to their audience and to each other. charlie: like the bible. jann: yes, and a destination. they respected us from the beginning. they gave us amazing interviews. charlie: returned from a newspaper to a magazine. wen: along the way, -- started as a newspaper because that was all he could afford to print. but along the way it became more , successful. we finally changed the paper quality, then another 15 or 20 years, we added staples. that is when we became a magazine. charlie: your then wife was working with you at that time. jann: yes, she was in the founding of it. charlie: how many people? jann: maybe five or six or seven people all volunteers. not hire our first full-time person until a year later. one person said they had to get paid because they had a part-time job at the zoo feeding animals and could not do both. so we started at $25 a week.

now of course there are 700 employees competitive salaries. , charlie: this is a clip, richard avedon talking about the family album series of portraits he did for "rolling stone." you will like this march through history. this was during the 1976 election. the series won a national award, and marked the start of a great relationship. one more great artist who somehow found a connection with "rolling stone." >> this was done for rolling stone magazine in 1976. this is a whole series of photographs. tell me what this portraiture is about. >> portraiture can be about anything. >> there is george bush in 1976. he was the cia director. what's this about? >> well, when i do a portrait, i have many choices. to be completely subjective, balance subjectivity with objectivity, or completely objective.

this was an election year. these were the power elites of the country bankers, union , heads, politicians. everyone from cesar chavez to khomeini. to tip it cheaply in any direction is very dangerous. i have no feelings about these people. i have no deep feelings about politicians. charlie: so what are you trying to reveal? >> in this case, i pulled back and let whatever they wanted to show, show. jann: there is a great selection of pictures in the book. i find it interesting that in 1976, when we were less than 10 years old, that we would have the audacity to decide we would define the american establishment. we would be the arbiter of it. that's ballsy. [laughter] charlie: and those pictures of george bush and a lot of other

people -- gus, we will get to you in a moment. were you born yet? [laughter] the writing, did it have from the beginning, a style to it? or did it come with tom wolfe and people like that? >> we let people who could write well define their own style. we never try to force a style on them. we insisted upon accurate reporting, good writing, and that the articles be about something. that you learn something from them. then you could operate within that range. that suited us very well. we had a great styles from a number of wonderful writers. charlie: you said you learned what writing and reporting could be and it began to shape the , vision for the magazine. from what tom wolfe was doing. roll the tape this is tom wolfe

, talking about new journalism. >> new journalism is not really very complicated. in my view, it is technical. you use the devices of fiction, scene by scene constructions, extensive use of dialogue. dialogue is the most readable thing in prose. another is the notation of status details. that is what people wear, what their furniture is like how , they treat superiors, inferiors. everything that shows how they might stand in life, which i think we are all conscious of. charlie: so you have a keen eye for that? >> i hope so. i think it is so important. the other thing is, this is the most controversial thing in this so-called new journalism, the use of what henry james calls to -- calls point of view. that is to be inside of

someone's head, not your own, as a writer. in someone's head in that scene you are presenting, if you can possibly do it. in order to do that, you have to have interviewed your subject extensively. you have to believe that subject is telling you the truth when the subject says what he was thinking. charlie: all of this became incorporated into the mindset of the magazine. jann: tom and i shared this mutual fascination with curious byways of american culture. but tom in my view is the greatest magazine writer in his time, one of the great writers of his times. the work he did his brilliant. it tells a story of the society we have lived in and how it has evolved. i was delighted to work with him. charlie: and then hunter thompson came along.

suis generis,as and amazing personality. fun to be with. again, a great reporter. a stylist, a writer, a man on a mission to tell the truth and get to the bottom. and a great writer about himself. he was always his best main character. we love and remember hunter s thompson for all the crazy stuff he did, evocative. you go to a place to meet ed muskie. charlie: and what about you? all of a sudden, you became part part of the scene, in terms of the culture of rock 'n roll. jann: you have to be on the scene to do the job that i do. and be aware of everything that's going on. i ended up knowing lots of people and going lots of places. it's fun. i had amazing access to all kinds of people and events, and situations, and concerts.

i have been lucky beyond belief. charlie: i want to show you some covers. then we will come back to gus. the first cover, november 9, 1967. there it is. >> that would be john lennon. that richard lister movie called "how i won the war." it was incredibly fortuitous that john lennon would be our first cover. nothing could be more perfect. charlie: next, the original offices in san francisco. there you are. >> right. that's my first office. that table. charlie: that table has a relationship to this table. i have told the story, i went to a party and there was this table, because you had moved to new york. i liked the table, not knowing

what its meaning was to him. i asked if i could buy it, and then you said you'd get back to me. and the next day you said i couldn't, but you knew where i could get one. that's where i found this one. let me show the next thing. mick jagger in london in 1969. jann: we were announcing up partnership we wanted to publish , "rolling stone," in england. an ambitious, naive, wonderful thing to do. charlie: and gus, you were born when? gus: 1990. charlie: how long have you wanted to work for "rolling stone?" gus: probably as long as i have been working for them. [laughter] i had other plans. charlie: what happened? gus: after i graduated school, i had some time. i wanted to work there to learn something, with no intentions of it turning into anything more. i think we discussed that.

you echoed the same sentiment. it was an incredible nine months. i was planning to stop working. my dad took me out to lunch and ask me if i would run the website. i was honored. charlie: when was this? gus: that was about 2013. charlie: four years ago. [laughter] charlie: and what is your role now? gus: my role is i run the digital operations of the business. i run the digital editorial of the business, and i oversee ad sales and marketing across the company. charlie: so where are you in terms of where the magazine is at its 50th anniversary? gus: -- jann: me, personally? i'm doing kind of three things. i'm enjoying continuing the magazine, and being a part of that, all the excitement that comes with it, particularly the times we live in now.

secondly, i'm looking for new things for us to do, using the brand and what we do to look at the other mediums available for us. i'm very excited about that. thirdly, i'm kind of helping gus -- he's helping me learn the ropes. i'm sort of watching him take over. charlie: you're teaching him and he's teaching you. at what point will he take over? jann: i think some point in the near future we are looking at a transition. we are well on the way to it now. we haven't exactly decided the nature of it, but the near future. or the distant future. or the mid-future. charlie: that's pretty exciting. i would think it would be really wonderful to have a son who you thought would be eminently qualified to come early and to learn and feel some sense of --

this is what your mother and i started with, and we are handing it over to you. you better take good care of it. it's our legacy. jann: i always thought gus was capable of doing it, but i never thought he would have enough time to learn it. given when he got out of school. but lo and behold, he surprised the hell out of me and everyone in office. he was a natural, gained lots of respect his judgment is , excellent. for me, working with my son, on a day-to-day basis what a , reward. charlie: absolutely. what is the heart and soul of "rolling stone," today? gus: i think it's not so different from what the heart and soul of "rolling stone," was when it was founded. i think it is about embracing a worldview that was told through rock 'n roll music and all the things that come along with it. worldview onee

that is a companion to rock 'n roll, or is it a view that comes from rock 'n roll? gus: i think it's both, really. i think rock 'n roll promoted the view, there is that freedom and independence and stepping to the establishment. obviously, a lot has changed in the last 50 years. we have changed a lot in the last 50 years. but at our core is the music and , what it means and represents to young people. charlie: how have you changed over the lifetime of this magazine? jann: well, i have gotten older and creakier. [laughter] and wiser. more patient with everybody. gaining wisdom with age. but my fundamental commitment to music and what we stood for remains the same. "rolling stone" has been a mission to me it started with , the mission of promoting music

and what it was about. it has evolved over time with growing professionalism and music itself. "rolling stone," is having a full-time voice in a national conversation. talking to presidents, talking about issues. charlie: you interviewed barack obama. jann: and clinton and other candidates. charlie: are you qualified to do that? jann: i am a good interviewer, charlie. [laughter] that's why i recognize a good interviewer in you. place instone" has a the national conversation, that is meaningful to me. charlie: that is in terms of national politics. jann: yes, but also the culture. the quality of the culture. charlie: and the culture, how the culture is changing? jann: culture should always be changing. it's designed to evolve and be contemporary. particularly popular culture. we are always on the leading edge of that.

through the coverage of culture, you learn so much about what society is about, more so than politics. charlie: culture as part of the continuity of a society. jann: and you read what the society is thinking and what people are doing. charlie: the legacy of one time to another time. jann: and who defines the culture? it is great artists. charlie: exactly. jann: there is the formula. charlie: do you have any musical talent? jann: minor. [laughter] i can sing along with records really well, and concerts. i used to play the guitar with gus, but he outpaced me. charlie: gus plays the guitar? jann: really well. charlie: at one time did you think you could be a musician? gus: that was what i thought before i started doing this. i realized i was better business than singing and playing guitar. jann: i didn't want to take us out of this to be a rock 'n roll star. i would feel guilty to that. but he was obviously so good at

this other thing, a skill for managing people and being a leader. do you really want to live the lifestyle of a musician, driving the country in a van? charlie: we just interviewed people, they're tired of the road. they wanted to do studio stuff for a while. you really wanted to make sure, when you knew he might be interested, you wanted to make damn sure. you wanted to load it up as much as you could. i wanted to make sure he wanted to do it, was comfortable at it and it was right for him. he demonstrated those things, i never pushed it it had to come , naturally. charlie: where will it go? does it continue to do what it does, or do you believe because we live in a different world, of

which he's in charge of, it presents new opportunities, new challenges? gus: it absolutely presents new opportunities. the brand now exists as an magazine, but it also has a readership of close to 30 million online, and more than 20 million across social media. we have more platforms than we could imagine to tell stories on, so that's a very exciting prospect. our future is very much in figuring out how we tell the same quality of stories, but in new mediums and on different platforms. ♪ charlie: does rock 'n roll have

the same impact today? jann: well, yes and no. charlie: as hip-hop and rap? jann: i include hip-hop and rap in rock 'n roll. i define it very broadly. i would say yes to young people. in certain situations, it can be just as impactful as it ever was. for my generation, we saw a perfect storm of having the beatles, dylan, the stones, all working together at the same time, all bouncing off of each other, each one trying to talk of other. it was like that period in paris e and you had magritt picasso and all those artists together. charlie: and the period leading to world war ii, or after. jann: a very fertile creative

area. the same with all these musicians. i think it has evolved just fine. you have powerful music going on today. you have older people still performing at their peak, still on the road, still making albums. you have another generation after that bruce springsteen and , bono. extraordinary performance, so connected with their times. charlie: i was just in omaha a couple weekends ago last , weekend. we were at the big convention center. it was looking at what's coming up. there it was, paul mccartney coming up in omaha for a concert. still going. jann: doing great shows all around the world now. it's wonderful to see. and audiences, not only older people, but young people are still obsessed. gus: i think there are fantastic music scenes happening right now. if you look at what's going on in nashville, country music -- really is.

country has never resonated as much as it has today. gus: we started an entire division called rolling stone country, and we have offices in nashville. it is an amazing scene. and hip-hop in atlanta, too. jann: although the record business itself is not doing well because it has moved on to other platforms. charlie: they make their money in tours. jann: and music is more widespread and more available than ever. audiences are the largest it has ever been. it crosses generations, it crosses generations of musicians. it has more impact than ever. it is a worldwide lingua franca of young people. charlie: it really is. it does cross borders. it is transnational. take a look at this. i want to show a couple slides. image six is of springsteen in new jersey august 1973. , look at this. the cover of "rolling stone,"

there he is the boss in new , jersey. the next is very interesting. jann: a shout out to bruce. one of the most compelling, interesting guys, one of the greatest performers in the world, with a social conscience. and to see his show, it is like a rock 'n roll evangelical. charlie: i don't know of anybody who tops this. i have never known a performer who gives more than bruce springsteen, and for a longer time on stage. he's exhausted, you're exhausted, but you walk away and say -- jann: i had the greatest time of my life. gus: no matter what, it's inspiring. jann: he's one of the people i like the best in my life. charlie: and he wrote a fantastic book. he wrote a really interesting book. take a look at this. image seven. september 27, 1977, a tribute to elvis. here it is. i'm not sure why you chose that photograph.

jann: a photograph i had never seen before. it was not our photograph, it was just floating around. it was him at his golden peak in that image. we moved from san francisco to new york within five days, we had a whole issue planned. he died, and we had to scramble, get this issue out on a deadline. charlie: i am of your generation, and i think elvis presley when he was young, the handsomest man that ever lived. this great sense of a white man who adapted black music. jann: and the voice, the voice. one of the best ever. ♪ >> i am alisa parenti from

washington, you're watching "bloomberg technology." attorney general jeff sessions testified before the senate today about his role in the firing of james comey and any potential collision between russia and the trump campaign. sessions, who asked for a public hearing, denied he had any additional meetings with that russian ambassador to the united states. not have any recollection of meeting or talking to the russian ambassador or any other russian officials. if any brief interaction occurred in passing with the russian ambassador during that reception, i did not remember. >>