Rolling Stone

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NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) - Rolling Stone gathered only a little moss before naming a new managing editor, as the flagship magazine of privately-held Wenner Media tapped FHM editor-in-chief Ed Needham for the job on Wednesday.

Needham, 38, takes the place of Robert Love, a 20-year veteran of the magazine who was asked to step down in April by Rolling Stone editor-in-chief and publisher Jann Wenner.

The managing editor job was also offered to Time magazine senior nation editor Eric Pooley, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Rolling Stone, the erstwhile bible of the counter culture and for years the dominant U.S. music magazine, has faced stiff competition from the upstart Blender, the sister magazine of Maxim.

Wenner recently revamped his flagging Us magazine, naming Bonnie Fuller to the celebrity and fashion title in an attempt to take on AOL Time Warner's AOL.N People magazine.

Rolling Stone, published every two weeks, has about 11 million readers, according to Wenner Media. Needham will begin his new job on July 8.

FHM is owned by the British media firm Emap. Needham was the editor-in-chief of the magazine's British edition before founding the U.S. edition in 1999.