Salon.com Shuts Down After Nearly 31 Years

The closure was announced in a farewell message as Salon said its publishing model was no longer sustainable given the business realities of independent digital journalism. Deadline reported that the site said it would go dark later on November 5, although the exact shutdown time was not specified.

Salon launched in November 1995, according to Variety, when the web was still developing as a venue for journalism and commentary. Over the following decades, the publication became known for cultural commentary, political analysis, arts coverage and lifestyle content, according to reporting by The Guardian and Variety.

Its origins were tied to upheaval at a traditional newspaper. Deadline reported that Salon was founded in the wake of a strike at the San Francisco Examiner, with Examiner editor David Talbot involved in exploring the creation of the new publication.

The Guardian described Salon as one of the pioneering publications of the early internet and characterized it as the internet’s oldest general-interest publication. That superlative is presented here as The Guardian’s characterization; the supplied evidence does not independently establish it.

The shutdown marks the end of a digital publication whose work spanned politics, arts, culture and lifestyle journalism. The available reports establish the closure and Salon’s explanation for it, but do not provide details about staff, ownership or whether the site’s archives will remain accessible.