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Salon, Digital News Trailblazer, Folds After 31 Years
The Hollywood Reporter • • business
Key Points:
- Salon, a pioneering left-leaning digital journalism outlet founded in 1995, is shutting down after 31 years due to unsustainable economics in independent digital media.
- The publication cited profound changes in how audiences access news, including declines in traffic from search engines, social media algorithm changes, and the rise of AI-generated search summaries that reduce website visits.
- Salon was an early innovator in online journalism, launching without a print version and helping launch the careers of prominent journalists like Jake Tapper and Glenn Greenwald.
- The site experienced a significant traffic drop after Facebook altered its news feed algorithm in 2016, and was acquired in 2023 by Find.co, a marketing company focused on crypto brands.
- Salon’s archive will remain live for now, though the publication did not specify long-term plans for its content.
