Nolte: Far-Left Salon Ceases Publication After 31 Years

AP Photo/Patrick Sison Far-left Salon, one of the very first digital news and opinion sites, is ceasing publication after 31 years. Tee hee. Nothing like a sweet-sweet piece of good news after 48 hours of brutal news. Salon launched in November of 1995 and was founded by David Talbot (a one-time arts and features editor for the San Francisco Examiner), Gary Kamiya, Laura Miller, Scott Rosenberg, Andrew Ross, and art director Mignon Khargie — whoever they are. Salon was the kind of outlet that used a domestic terrorist attack to link Trump supporters to ISIS, described Trump as a “committed enemy” of democracy and human rights, told its stupid readers “MAGA and Christian nationalism [are a b]igger threat to America than Hamas could ever be,” and described America as “post-Christian.” In other words, Salon was a real piece of shit. And now, because it can’t afford to lose money anymore, it is gone for good: The business realities of independent digital journalism have changed profoundly over the years. After careful consideration, we have reached the difficult decision that our publishing model is no longer sustainable. We know this news will be deeply disappointing to many of you, and we share that sadness. Yeah, whatever, bye… Salon joins the Messenger, Vice, BuzzFeed News, Sports Illustrated, Popular Science, Jezebel, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, New Jersey Star-Ledger, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the list of publications that, over the last few years, have been shuttered or gutted into something that no longer resembles what they once were. Can the Daily Beast be far behind? This is what happens to a publication when it does not have a unique voice. All of these former outlets focused on the same news stories, spewed the same opinions, spread the same talking points, pushed the same narratives, and ignored anything that colored outside the lines. The audience for that is only so large, and if that audience can get the exact same product you’re manufacturing elsewhere, why click on you? In all my years of monitoring the news media, I cannot remember a single time Salon surprised me outside of the unhinged acts of bigotry and cruelty listed above. For the past ten or so years, I cannot remember a single time when Salon made even a ripple in the news cycle with an important story or an original thought. “Salon” was a perfect name for Salon — a bubble-lined and velvet-walled place where the elite talk only to one another. No one will miss Salon, no one is “saddened” it has closed, for one reason: no one knew it was still alive.