Robert Charles Guccione Jr. (born September 19, 1955) is an
American publisher and the eldest son of late
''Penthouse'' founder
Bob Guccione. He founded the music magazine ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles
* Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
''.
Publishing career
In 1978, after two attempts at going into the publishing business on his own, the young,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
-raised Guccione went to work for ''
Penthouse'' publisher General Media International, a company owned by his father, ''Penthouse'' founder
Bob Guccione. By the early 1980s, at which time he was running the marketing and circulation department, he left the company (and purported position as heir apparent) to once again attempt to establish his own brand.
Launching of ''Spin'' magazine (1985)
In 1985, with a loan from his father, he launched ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles
* Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
''. In 1987, his father abruptly shut down the magazine after General Media experienced a financial dip which resulted in a long-lasting estrangement between the two. This estrangement ended a few years prior to the elder Guccione's death on October 20, 2010. The younger Guccione found new investors and relaunched ''Spin'' in late 1987. He managed to gather most of the magazine's old staff, and missed only one month of publication.
In 1996, Guccione and ''Spin'' were sued for sexual harassment and discrimination by Staci Bonner, a former fact-checker for the magazine. Guccione was cleared of the harassment charges, but found liable for promoting a
hostile work environment
In United States labor law, a hostile work environment exists when one's behavior within a workplace creates an environment that is difficult or uncomfortable for another person to work in, due to illegal discrimination. However, a working environm ...
and not paying Bonner comparably to a man with a comparable job position.
Guccione sold ''Spin'' to ''
Vibe
Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing.
Vibe may also refer to:
People
* DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ
* Lasse Vibe (b ...
'' in 1997, and shortly thereafter founded ''
Gear
A gear or gearwheel is a rotating machine part typically used to transmit rotational motion and/or torque by means of a series of teeth that engage with compatible teeth of another gear or other part. The teeth can be integral saliences or ...
'', which published until 2003. In 2005,
science
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
magazine ''
Discover
Discover may refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Discover'' (album), a Cactus Jack album
* ''Discover'' (magazine), an American science magazine
* "Discover", a song by Chris Brown from his 2015 album ''Royalty''
Businesses and bran ...
'' was purchased from Disney Publishing and Guccione formed Discover Media, LLC to publish the magazine. In 2007, Guccione was ousted as CEO, in what was described by the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative
daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' as "a falling-out over philosophical differences with his financial backers about how to run the company."
"Guccione Jr. Goes From Penthouse to the Outhouse"
/ref>
''Gear'' magazine (1998–2003)
''Gear
A gear or gearwheel is a rotating machine part typically used to transmit rotational motion and/or torque by means of a series of teeth that engage with compatible teeth of another gear or other part. The teeth can be integral saliences or ...
'' was launched and published in the United Kingdom devoted chiefly to revealing pictorials of popular singers, B-movie
A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
actresses, and models, along with articles on gadgets, cars, fashion, guy tales of sex, and sports.
''Gear'' debuted in September 1998, with actress Peta Wilson on the cover. The magazine established itself with several publishing stunts such as publishing a nude photo of soccer player Brandi Chastain
Brandi Denise Chastain (born July 21, 1968) is an American retired soccer player, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold-medalist, coach, and sports broadcaster. She played for the United States national team from 1988 ...
. The publication, which reached a peak circulation of 500,000 copies sold in 2001, discontinued publication in 2003.
Jessica Biel controversy
''Gear'' reached its exposure apogee in 2000 when it featured a risqué pictorial of then 17-year-old actress Jessica Biel
Jessica Claire Timberlake (née Biel ; born March 3, 1982) is an American actress. Biel began her career as a vocalist appearing in musical productions until she was cast as Mary Camden in the family drama series '' 7th Heaven'' (1996–2007 ...
, who posed while appearing on the WB family drama series '' 7th Heaven''. A controversy arose when ''7th Heaven'' castmate Stephen Collins, who played her father on the series, described the pictures as "child pornography". Collins later admitted to three counts of child abuse. Others, including A.J. Jacobs writing in ''Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'', praised it as a brave move by Biel.[
]
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guccione, Bob Jr.
1955 births
Living people
Businesspeople from New York City
American expatriates in England
American magazine founders
American magazine publishers (people)
American people of Italian descent