Early web pioneer Salon stops publishing

US digital magazine Salon has ceased publication after 31 years, saying its publishing model was “no longer sustainable”. 

The progressive news and opinion site announced the closure on 5 November US time, ending a run that began in November 1995, when a small group of journalists launched the magazine on the fledgling web. 

Three years under Find.co

The closure comes almost three years after media company Find.co bought Salon outright. At the time, Find.co said it would keep Salon as a standalone US brand, retain its editorial staff and invest in coverage, with plans to expand its reporting on finance and technology. 

Salon attributed the decision to the changing economics of independent digital journalism. Its farewell gave no details on what the closure would mean for staff, subscribers or the site’s archive. 

An early home for online journalism

Salon built its name on US politics, essays and cultural criticism. Its alumni include CNN anchor Jake Tapper, who covered the White House for the site, and journalist Rebecca Traister. Joseph Neese, who joined Salon in 2017, was its outgoing editor-in-chief. 

In its farewell, Salon thanked the staff and contributors who built the publication and the readers who subscribed, wrote in and kept coming back. “Thank you for being part of our story. It has been an extraordinary privilege.”