Salon is shutting down after 31 years

Salon launched 31 years ago as one of the first online-only news magazine outlets, and it announced today in an unsigned post that it’s ceasing publication.

The company said that the “business realities of independent digital journalism have changed profoundly over the years,” and it decided that its publishing model is “no longer sustainable.” It didn’t go into detail about why, but many websites are grappling with “Google Zero” and the impact of AI tools. When reached for comment, Salon general manager Amanda Wolfe pointed The Verge to today’s announcement post.

“Thirty-one years is a remarkable run, but what matters most is what happened during those years: the journalism, the ideas, the voices, the conversations and the community that grew around them,” Salon said in its post. “Salon helped demonstrate what digital journalism could be and could become. We hope that legacy will continue to matter long after today.”

On Bluesky, Salon chief content officer Erin Keane says that the editorial archive will “stay live for now.”

Current Salon owner Find.co acquired Salon in 2023 and describes itself as a “Performance Marketing Ecosystem transforming crypto marketing with performance and precision.”