It was a gut-punch reading “Goodbye from Salon,” a post announcing that the long-running web pioneer is ceasing publication.
“The business realities of independent digital journalism have changed profoundly over the years,” they wrote. “After careful consideration, we have reached the difficult decision that our publishing model is no longer sustainable. We know this news will be deeply disappointing to many of you, and we share that sadness.”
That’s 31 years of news coverage and history, snuffed out by the cold, hard realities of the media business.
That’s a tough one. There was a period of time back when the internet and it’s promise was new and shiny that Salon was the first thing I looked at each day at work of course. There was such a variety of content that was completely outside what I got from local and national media.
As wistful a mood that this puts me in, I can’t say when was the last time I thought about Salon, much less opened the page.
Salon: “After careful consideration, we have reached the difficult decision that our publishing model is no longer sustainable.”
Should I interpret that as meaning that they practiced responsible, truthful news coverage that featured REAL news devoid of sensationalism, exaggeration, and lies designed just to get hits? If so, I mourn their passing.
I’m another who used to regularly read Salon and then stopped because of its paywall.
I just took a look at its front page, and there’s nothing there I couldn’t find on a dozen other sites.Amanda Marcotte and Heather Digby Parton are good writers, but they started elsewhere and will find a new spot soon, unless they go the Substack.
Here’s a nice piece about the founding of Salon. It appeared on Slate. The important line is almost hidden. Salon was sold off three years ago to Find Co., a crypto news organization. What a great fit.
I too remember reading Salon back when it launched, but by the time they went behind the paywall it wasn’t worth it to me. I removed them from my feed a long time ago.
