The end of a 31-year run: Salon, the internet's oldest general-interest publication, is shutting down
Salon, described as the oldest general-interest publication on the internet, is closing. The outlet announced the decision itself on Thursday. The announcement came just weeks before its anniversary on 20 November, ending a chapter of digital journalism that lasted more than three decades.
Announcing the closure, Salon said: "It's difficult to find the right words for the end of something that has meant so much to so many people. Salon was never just a website. It was an idea about what journalism could be, born at a moment when the internet was still a largely unexplored frontier."
As the reason for closing, the publication said the business realities of independent digital journalism have changed profoundly over the years. After careful consideration, it said, it had reached the difficult decision that its publishing model is no longer sustainable. It acknowledged the news would be deeply disappointing to many readers and said it shared that sadness.
Salon was founded in San Francisco in 1995. The publication said its output helped pioneer a form of journalism that would come to define an entirely new era of publishing. In the 2000s, Salon moved most of its editorial staff to New York City. It built its reputation on coverage of politics, arts and culture.
In 2011, a piece by the Columbia Journalism Review described Salon as the oldest general-interest publication on the internet. The publication won a plethora of awards for its work through the 1990s, including website of the year from Time magazine in 1996 and best website from BusinessWeek in 1997.
In its farewell statement, Salon said it was profoundly grateful to the journalists, editors, photographers, producers, designers, business teams and countless other colleagues who brought the publication to life across its many chapters.
"Thirty-one years is a remarkable run," Salon said. "What matters most is what happened during those years: the journalism, the ideas, the voices, the conversations and the community that grew around them."
