Salon, one of the early internet’s most influential websites that featured sharp voices and political and cultural journalism with a liberal sensibility, announced Thursday it would shut down after 31 years of publication.
“It has been an extraordinary privilege,” the outlet said in a farewell note.
It did not immediately indicate what would become of its employees, though some reported they had lost their jobs. The announcement, seen as a surprise, cited the fact that “the business realities of independent digital journalism have changed profoundly over the years. “Our journalism examined power and politics, questioned assumptions, surfaced stories that deserved attention and made room for perspectives that were too often overlooked. Our writers and editors helped shape conversations about the forces changing our lives. In its statement, Salon also made a point of thanking its readers. “You read, shared, challenged, subscribed, wrote to us and kept coming back. Your engagement made Salon a publication and a community, and it gave our work meaning. We are so grateful for the time you spent with us.”
A spokesperson for the outlet said 19 full-time employees had been affected, as well as a handful of private contractors.
“Over three decades, Salon has brought together politics, culture, criticism and ideas in a way that was distinctly our own,” the unsigned farewell note said. “The timing was right — readers were tired of bland, market-tested media products, and the internet allowed us to launch something original, something with a strong voice,” founder David Talbot said on the outlet’s five-year anniversary in 2000. “You came to Salon for the journalism, the dialogue, the essays, the criticism, the unexpected discoveries and the sense that there was a place on the internet where ideas mattered,” it said.
