Salon, the online magazine, shuts down after 31 years
Salon says its publishing model is no longer sustainable, and it did not immediately say what would happen to its archive.
Salon, an online magazine of politics, culture and commentary with a liberal sensibility, announced on Thursday, Nov. 5, that it is ceasing publication after 31 years. Its farewell statement said independent digital journalism's financial conditions have changed profoundly, and its publishing model is no longer sustainable. The announcement came weeks before its anniversary on Nov. 20.
Salon was founded in San Francisco in 1995. The Guardian reports that in 2011 the Columbia Journalism Review called Salon the oldest publication of general interest on the web. According to an AP report, the announcement was seen as a surprise.
Salon did not immediately say what would happen to its employees, although some reported being laid off, or what would become of its archive. According to The Blaze, Salon's worth reached $107 million at its 1999 IPO. The statement said Salon "was never just a website."
In it, Salon thanked its staff and readers and said it hopes its legacy will continue to matter.
- 31 yearsSalon's run of publication before closingThe Guardian
- $107 millionSalon's value at its 1999 public offering, according to The BlazeThe Blaze
Three sides of the story
10 news outlets reported this · Little coverage from liberal outlets
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Liberal1 outlet
A pioneering publication's closure and its history
The Guardian reports the closure as the end of a pioneer. It leads with Salon, "one of the early internet’s pioneering publications," closing after more than three decades, and quotes the farewell statement at length, including that Salon "was never just a website." It gives the reasons in Salon's words, that the publishing model is "no longer sustainable."
It adds history: founding in San Francisco in 1995, a move of most editorial staff to New York in the 2000s, the Columbia Journalism Review's 2011 description of it as the oldest general interest publication on the internet, and awards from Time and BusinessWeek in the 1990s. It closes on Salon's own line that thirty-one years is "a remarkable run."
Center1 outlet
An influential early web voice, and open questions
The Seattle Times, carrying an AP report, announces that the online magazine will shut down. It calls Salon "one of the early internet’s most influential websites" and says the announcement was seen as a surprise. It adds that Salon did not immediately say what would happen to employees, though some reported losing jobs, or to its large archive.
The piece quotes the farewell note's line "It has been an extraordinary privilege." It traces the site's start in the mid-1990s, quotes founder David Talbot on the five-year anniversary in 2000, and names writers who passed through, including Jake Tapper and Glenn Greenwald, and editors Talbot and Joan Walsh. It also places Salon among competitors such as Slate and The Atlantic's growing online presence, and ends with Salon's thanks to readers.
Conservative8 outlets
A left-wing outlet's demise, and its record
The Daily Caller headlines the news as a "Left-Wing Online Magazine" shutting down after 31 years. It quotes Salon's farewell, including that the publishing model is "no longer sustainable," and recalls Salon's support for Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal and its 1999 stock offering, citing the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post. The Blaze runs a piece saying Salon leaves behind "a legacy of fake news and leftist slop."
It lists past articles it calls fake news, including a 2021 DeSantis piece whose headline Salon later changed, and says the closure was "generally well-received," quoting a tweet by journalist Andy Ngo. RedState notes that on Wednesday, Nov. 4, Salon writer Sophia Tesfaye wrote about media's "total structural collapse," and that Salon announced its own closing the next afternoon. Townhall's "RIP, Salon" post says the business model would not let the site survive, names progressive writers who worked there, and embeds tweets reacting to the news.
- Daily Caller: Left-Wing Online Magazine Shuts Down after 31 Years
- The Blaze: Salon is dead, leaving behind a legacy of fake news and leftist slop. Here's the worst in show.
- Townhall: RIP, Salon: Left-Wing Rag Is Shutting Down
- RedState: Lefty Rag Salon Mocked MAGA's 'Total Structural Collapse' — Then Shut Down the Next Day
Which side made the stronger case?
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All sources: 11 articles from 10 outlets
Liberal (1)
Center (1)
- The Seattle Times: Online magazine Salon, an early staple of internet discourse, announces it will shut down
Conservative (9)
- Breitbart News: Nolte: Far-Left Salon Ceases Publication After 31 Years
- Daily Caller: Left-Wing Online Magazine Shuts Down after 31 Years
- New York Post: Lefty digital news site Salon closes after 31 years
- RedState: Lefty Rag Salon Mocked MAGA's 'Total Structural Collapse' — Then Shut Down the Next Day
- The Blaze: Salon is dead, leaving behind a legacy of fake news and leftist slop. Here's the worst in show.
- The Daily Wire: Bye-Bye, Salon: Ranking The 10 Most Deranged Articles Of The 30 Year Run
- The Post Millennial: Left-wing news outlet Salon shutters after 31 years
- The Post Millennial: Left-wing news outlet Salon shutters after 31 years
- Townhall: RIP, Salon: Left-Wing Rag Is Shutting Down
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