WASHINGTON — Salon, one of the early internet’s most influential websites, featuring incisive voices and political and cultural journalism underpinned by liberal sensibilities, announced Thursday that it will be shutting down after 31 years of publication. “This has been an extraordinary privilege,” the outlet said in a farewell note.
The announcement, which was seen as a surprise, touched on the fact that “the commercial realities of independent digital journalism have changed profoundly over the years.” It was not immediately stated what would happen to their employees, although some reported losing their jobs.
“For over thirty years, the Salon has brought together politics, culture, criticism and ideas in a way that is entirely our own,” the unsigned farewell note said. “Our journalism examined power and politics, questioned assumptions, unearthed stories that deserve attention, and made room for perspectives that are often overlooked. Our writers and editors helped shape conversations about the forces that change our lives.”
The salon began its life in the mid-1990s, just three years after the Internet went mainstream and at a time when “World Wide Web” was still spelled that way. It began a decade before the newspaper and print magazine markets collapsed, and also a decade before the rise of social media fractured the world of journalism.
As the name suggests, Salon was initially designed as an online magazine and meeting place; a site where more provocative ideas and stories that might not have appeared in the daily newspapers or even the then-dominant weekly newsletters like Time or Newsweek could surface and spark debate. It quickly became a place where writers wanted their works to appear.
“The timing was right; readers were tired of boring, market-tested media products, and the internet allowed us to launch something with an original, strong voice,” founder David Talbot said at the publication’s fifth anniversary in 2000.
It attracted a cast of famous writers and famous people, including Jake Tapper and Glenn Greenwald. Two of its editors-in-chief, Talbot and Joan Walsh, also became leading progressive political voices.
As the Internet grew, so did Salon’s competition. Slate emerged the following year, and soon online magazines became the order of the day. Eventually, legacy print publications like The Atlantic began moving more content online, and the online marketplace of ideas grew. Salon used the death of Princess Diana in 1997 to move beyond its roots in culture and criticism and delve into breaking news.
Hall did not immediately say what would become of its massive online archives, which include three decades of stories from around the world, across subjects and genres.
In its statement, Salon came to the point of thanking its readers.
“You come to Salon for journalism, for dialogue, for essays, for critiques, for unexpected discoveries, and for the feeling that there is a place on the internet where ideas matter,” he said. “You read, you shared, you challenged, you subscribed, you wrote to us, and you kept coming back. Your participation made Salon a publication and a community and gave meaning to our work. We are so grateful for the time you spent with us.”