Salon.com
Encyclopedia
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine
, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot
and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S. politics and current affairs, and on reviews and articles about music, books and films.
Salon's headquarters are located west of downtown San Francisco, California
. Its current Editor in Chief is Kerry Lauerman. Long-time Editor in Chief Joan Walsh
stepped down from that position in November 2010 to concentrate on writing a book, but has stayed on at Salon.com as Editor at Large.
/open source
movement.
Salon has always been an interactive site to some degree. The "salon
" concept is played out in The WELL, and since 2005, comments on editorial stories open to registered readers.
In 2008, Salon launched its biggest interactive initiative, Open Salon
, a social content site/blog network for its readers.
Responding to the question "how far do you go with the tabloid
sensibility to get readers?", former Salon.com editor-in-chief David Talbot
said:
and Alex Pareene; political analyst Steve Kornacki; critics Laura Miller, Matt Zoller Seitz, and Andrew O'Hehir; pop-culture columnist Mary Elizabeth Williams; aviation columnist Patrick Smith; Tracy Clark-Flory writing on feminist and gender topics; advice columnist Cary Tennis
; and economics writer Andrew Leonard.
David Talbot
is founder and original editor-in-chief. He has served several stints as CEO, most recently replacing Richard Gingras in that position in July 2011. Kerry Lauerman is the editor-in-chief. Gail Williams
manages The WELL. Norman Blashka is the CFO and VP of Operations.
and was first published in 1995. It purchased the virtual community
The WELL in April 1999, and made its initial public offering
of Salon.com on the NASDAQ
stock exchange on June 22 of that year.
Salon Premium, a pay-to-view (online) content subscription was introduced on April 25, 2001. The service signed over 130,000 subscribers and staved off discontinuation of services. However, less than two years later, in November 2002, the company announced it had accumulated cash and non-cash losses of $80 million, and by February 2003 it was having difficulty paying its rent, and made an appeal for donations to keep the company running.
On October 9, 2003, Michael O'Donnell, the chief executive
and president of Salon Media Group, said he was leaving the company after seven years because it was "time for a change." When he left, Salon.com had accrued $83.6 million in losses since its inception, and its stock traded for 5¢ on the OTC Bulletin Board
. David Talbot, Salon's chairman and editor-in-chief at the time, became the new chief executive. Elizabeth "Betsy" Hambrecht, then Salon's chief financial officer
, became the president.
In July 2008, Salon launched Open Salon, a "social content site" and "curated blog network". It was nominated for a 2009 National Magazine Award. in the category "best interactive feature." However, Open.salon.com has received criticism from both readers and users (June, 2011) for a lack of editoral control.
On June 10, 2011, Salon closed its online chat board Table Talk. While there was heartfelt sentiment from the board's manager about Table Talk closing, Salon.com has not yet given an official reason why they ended this section of their site.
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot
David Talbot
David Talbot is a progressive journalist, bestselling author and media entrepreneur. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of one of the first web magazines, Salon.com...
and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S. politics and current affairs, and on reviews and articles about music, books and films.
Salon's headquarters are located west of downtown San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Its current Editor in Chief is Kerry Lauerman. Long-time Editor in Chief Joan Walsh
Joan Walsh
Joan Maureen Walsh is a liberal editor, writer, and blogger. Since February 2005 she has been the editor-in-chief of Salon.com, a San Francisco-based American liberal politics and culture Web site. She joined Salon as its first full-time news editor in 1998, and became managing editor in 2004...
stepped down from that position in November 2010 to concentrate on writing a book, but has stayed on at Salon.com as Editor at Large.
Content and coverage
Salon magazine covers a variety of topics. It has reviews and articles about music, books, and films. It also has articles about "modern life", including relationships, friendships and human sexual behavior. It covers technology, with a particular focus on the free softwareFree software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
/open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
movement.
Salon has always been an interactive site to some degree. The "salon
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
" concept is played out in The WELL, and since 2005, comments on editorial stories open to registered readers.
In 2008, Salon launched its biggest interactive initiative, Open Salon
Open Salon
Open Salon is a hybrid blogging platform and social network site started by the Salon Media Group, Inc. According to Salon Editor-in-Chief Joan Walsh "Open Salon gets rid of traditional gatekeepers, and makes our smart, creative audience full partners in Salon's publishing future." After...
, a social content site/blog network for its readers.
Responding to the question "how far do you go with the tabloid
Tabloid journalism
Tabloid journalism tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news...
sensibility to get readers?", former Salon.com editor-in-chief David Talbot
David Talbot
David Talbot is a progressive journalist, bestselling author and media entrepreneur. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of one of the first web magazines, Salon.com...
said:
Is Salon more tabloid-like? Yeah, we've made no secret of that. I've said all along that our formula here is that we're a smart tabloid. If by tabloid what you mean is you're trying to reach a popular audience, trying to write topics that are viscerally important to a readership, whether it's the story about the mother in Houston who drowned her five children or the story on the missing intern in Washington, Chandra LevyChandra LevyChandra Ann Levy was an American intern at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C., who disappeared in May 2001. She was presumed murdered after her skeletal remains were found in Rock Creek Park in May 2002...
.
Key people
Regular contributors include the political opinion writers Glenn GreenwaldGlenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald is an American lawyer, columnist, blogger, and author. Greenwald worked as a constitutional and civil rights litigator before becoming a contributor to Salon.com, where he focuses on political and legal topics...
and Alex Pareene; political analyst Steve Kornacki; critics Laura Miller, Matt Zoller Seitz, and Andrew O'Hehir; pop-culture columnist Mary Elizabeth Williams; aviation columnist Patrick Smith; Tracy Clark-Flory writing on feminist and gender topics; advice columnist Cary Tennis
Cary Tennis
Cary D. Tennis , an American author and columnist. He is best known for his work as an advice columnist in his column "Since You Asked," which appears on the website Salon.com.-Personal:Tennis is a native of Tidewater, Virginia....
; and economics writer Andrew Leonard.
David Talbot
David Talbot
David Talbot is a progressive journalist, bestselling author and media entrepreneur. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of one of the first web magazines, Salon.com...
is founder and original editor-in-chief. He has served several stints as CEO, most recently replacing Richard Gingras in that position in July 2011. Kerry Lauerman is the editor-in-chief. Gail Williams
Gail Williams
Gail Ann Williams has been the director of The WELL since 1998. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in the 1970s and got involved in political theater as both a creative and management member of the Plutonium Players troupe...
manages The WELL. Norman Blashka is the CFO and VP of Operations.
History
Salon was founded by David TalbotDavid Talbot
David Talbot is a progressive journalist, bestselling author and media entrepreneur. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of one of the first web magazines, Salon.com...
and was first published in 1995. It purchased the virtual community
Virtual community
A virtual community is a social network of individuals who interact through specific media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals...
The WELL in April 1999, and made its initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
of Salon.com on the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
stock exchange on June 22 of that year.
Salon Premium, a pay-to-view (online) content subscription was introduced on April 25, 2001. The service signed over 130,000 subscribers and staved off discontinuation of services. However, less than two years later, in November 2002, the company announced it had accumulated cash and non-cash losses of $80 million, and by February 2003 it was having difficulty paying its rent, and made an appeal for donations to keep the company running.
On October 9, 2003, Michael O'Donnell, the chief executive
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
and president of Salon Media Group, said he was leaving the company after seven years because it was "time for a change." When he left, Salon.com had accrued $83.6 million in losses since its inception, and its stock traded for 5¢ on the OTC Bulletin Board
OTC Bulletin Board
The OTC Bulletin Board or OTCBB is an interdealer electronic quotation system in the United States that displays real-time quotes, last-sale prices, and volume information for many over-the-counter equity securities that are not listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange or a national securities exchange...
. David Talbot, Salon's chairman and editor-in-chief at the time, became the new chief executive. Elizabeth "Betsy" Hambrecht, then Salon's chief financial officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
, became the president.
In July 2008, Salon launched Open Salon, a "social content site" and "curated blog network". It was nominated for a 2009 National Magazine Award. in the category "best interactive feature." However, Open.salon.com has received criticism from both readers and users (June, 2011) for a lack of editoral control.
On June 10, 2011, Salon closed its online chat board Table Talk. While there was heartfelt sentiment from the board's manager about Table Talk closing, Salon.com has not yet given an official reason why they ended this section of their site.
Business model and operations
Aspects of the Salon.com site offerings, ordered by advancing date:- Free content, around 15 new articles posted per-day, revenues wholly derived from in-page advertisements.
- Per-day new content was reduced for a time.
- Salon Premium subscription. Approximately 20% of new content made available to subscribers only. Other subscription benefits included free magazines and ad-free viewing. Larger, more conspicuous ad units introduced for non-subscribers.
- A hybrid subscription model. Readers now can read content by viewing a 15-second full screen advertisement to earn a "day pass" or gain access by subscribing to Salon Premium.
- After Salon Premium subscriptions declined from about 100,000 to 10,000 it was rebranded in 2011 as Salon Core subscriptions featuring a different mix of benefits.
Books published by editors and contributors
- George, Don (editor). Wanderlust: Real-Life Tales of Adventures and Romance (2001). ISBN 0333905024
- Leibovich, Lori (editor). Maybe Baby: 28 Writers Tell the Truth About Skepticism, Infertility, Baby Lust, Childlessness, Ambivalence, and How They Made the Biggest Decision of Their Lives (2006). ISBN 0-06-073781-6
- Manjoo, Farhad. True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society (2008). ISBN 9780470050101
- Miller, Laura (editor). The Salon.Com Reader's Guide to Contemporary Authors (2000). ISBN 0-14-028088-X
- Miller, Laura. The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia (2010). ISBN 0316017639
- Pareene, Alex. A Tea People's History (2011). ISBN 978-0-615-53212-7
- Peri, Camille (editor), Moses, Kate (editor). Mothers Who Think: Tales of Real-Life Parenthood (2000). ISBN 0-671-77468-9
- Tracy QuanTracy QuanTracy Quan is an American writer and former prostitute. She is best known for her Nancy Chan novels. In addition, Quan writes a regular column for The Guardian website on pop culture, sex and politics and is involved in the prostitutes' rights movement....
's novels continue the story begun in the Salon series Nancy Chan: Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl.- Quan, Tracy. Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl (2001). ISBN 978-0-609-60724-4
- Quan, Tracy. Diary of a Married Call Girl: A Nancy Chan Novel (2005). ISBN 978-1-4000-5354-4
- Quan, Tracy. Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl (2008). ISBN 978-0-00-724938-1
- Rosenberg, Scott. Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software (2007). ISBN 978-1-4000-8247-6
- Smith, Patrick. Ask the Pilot: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel (2004). ISBN 1594480044
- Sweeney, Jennifer Foote (editor). Life As We Know It: A Collection of Personal Essays from Salon.com (2003). ISBN 978-0743476867
- Tennis, Cary. Since you asked (2007). ISBN 978-0979327001