It was a sad moment yesterday when word came that Salon has ceased publication. In a short unsigned statement, the site broke its own news: “The business realities of independent digital journalism have changed profoundly over the years. After careful consideration, we have reached the difficult decision that our publishing model is no longer sustainable.”
The truth is that Salon never had a sustainable business model and that was both its charm and its tragedy. Salon epitomized a very specific moment in publishing history — the pivot from print to online sites.
It also captured a very specific moment in cultural history — the ascendence of “San Francisco values” (shorthand DEI) openly at war with the right-wing’s self-appointed “family values.”
Salon also represented a very specific moment in political history — we were the leading investigative journalists holding hypocritical conservative politicians accountable during the impeachment of Bill Clinton.
Finally, for me personally, Salon played a very important part in the key transition in my career. Just like Salon, my print career was reborn online in 1995. It makes me sad to realize that I have now outlived it.
As for those early years, I’m republishing links to the six-part series on Salon. At the time I wrote it, I had no idea this would be an elegy.
Origin Story: Salon
“All things must pass.” — George Harrison
HEADLINES:
‘I Have Seen the Enemy, and It Is Us’: Inside Team Trump’s Historic Collapse (NYT)
Tech slump wipes millions off markets (Reuters)
‘Knives out’ for Hegseth, other military leaders after Iran war dooms GOP (WP)
A judge blocks construction of Trump’s arch moments after it won federal approval (NPR)
Democrats will win more than 250 House seats, CNN projects (CNN)
How the Democrats will wield their power (Economist)
The Republican missteps that laid the groundwork for a historic midterm rebuke (WP)
The Machine, and the Messaging, That Won Texas for Democrats (NYT)
Democrats face a choice on Trump come January: Confrontation or compromise (WP)
Newsom moves to commute all California death sentences to life in prison without parole (LAT)
Judge Scolds ICE ‘Cruelty’ for Arresting Man He Just Ordered Be Released (Newsweek)
DOJ civil rights division chief resigns (Politico)
Justice Department Pursuing Criminal Investigation into Dobbs Decision Leak (NR)
Nithya Raman, Democratic Socialist, Wins Los Angeles Mayoral Race (NYT)
Hundreds of thousands march in largely peaceful protests across France (CNN)
Melania Trump calls for lasting Ukraine truce as she hosts Russian and Ukrainian officials (BBC)
Paraguay President Peña resigns under mounting pressure from bank collapse (Reuters)
Watch: Is a Nuclear Strike Imminent? Iranian Video on Surviving a Nuclear Explosion Sparks Fear (Sabq)
Goodbye from Salon (Salon)
Online magazine Salon, early staple of internet discourse, shuts down (ABC)
Salon, Digital News Trailblazer, Folds After 31 Years (Hollywood Reporter)
Salon, a Pioneer of Digital Journalism, Shuts Down (NYT)
LIV Golf is done after 5 years and $5 billion spent dividing the sport (NYT)
Bosses loved AI at work — until they drowned in slop (BI)
Anthropic is rapidly accelerating AI development amid slowdown calls, outside research group says (AP)
AI agents can trade stocks for you—here are the risks and benefits, according to experts (CNBC)
Claude can now analyze your spending with its new Personal Finance tool (TechCrunch)
Voters Rejected A.I. in the Midterms. Now Comes an Era of Scrutiny. (NYT)
Bain Capital Acquires Tibetan Buddhism For $35 Million (Onion)
No comments:
Post a Comment