Salon shuts down after 31 years

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Salon, one of the first online-only news magazines, published its final piece on November 5, 2026. The farewell post cited "the business realities of independent digital journalism" and a publishing model that is "no longer sustainable."

The site launched in 1995 and at its peak employed nearly 150 people. Its owner, the marketing company Find.co, acquired Salon in 2023. Nineteen full-time employees lost their jobs, and the editorial archive will stay online "for now," according to chief content officer Erin Keane.

Why it matters

Salon's closure shows that even a 31-year-old brand with a loyal readership can't sustain ad-based digital publishing.

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Key Indicators

Years of publication

Salon launched on November 20, 1995, and closed on November 5, 2026.

Full-time employees laid off

The Associated Press reported 19 full-time staff lost their jobs.

~150

Peak staff size

Salon at one point employed nearly 150 workers, per Deadline.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

David Talbot

Founder and former editor-in-chief

No longer with Salon

Erin Keane

Chief content officer

Announced archive will stay live for now

Amanda Wolfe

General manager

Declined further comment

Organizations Involved

Salon

Online news magazine

Ceased publication on November 5, 2026

One of the first online-only news magazines, known for politics, culture and criticism.

Find.co

Marketing company

Owner of Salon since 2023

A privately held company that describes itself as a performance marketing ecosystem.

Writers Guild of America (WGA)

Labor Union

Represented Salon workers since 2018

The union that organized Salon's staff and signed a first contract in 2018.

Timeline

November 1995 November 2026

4 events Latest: Today

Tap a bar to jump to that date

November 2026
Salon announces shutdown
Today Closure

Farewell post cites an unsustainable publishing model; 19 full-time staff lose jobs.
Today
November 2023
Find.co acquires Salon
Ownership

Marketing company Find.co buys Salon.com from Drew Schoentrup and Chris Richmond.
November 2023
2018
Workers unionize with WGA East
Labor

Salon staff sign their first contract with the Writers Guild of America East.
2018
November 1995
Salon launches
Launch

David Talbot and five co-founders debut one of the first online-only news magazines.
November 20th, 1995

Scenarios

Salon's archive stays online but stops updating

Likely Resolves by May 5, 2027

Discussed by: Salon chief content officer Erin Keane, via The Verge

Keane said the editorial archive will "stay live for now." In this scenario, salon.com continues to serve past articles with no new publication, and the site becomes a static archive under Find.co's ownership.

Find.co sells the Salon brand or domain

Possible Resolves by Nov 5, 2027

Discussed by: Industry observers, following patterns at other shuttered outlets

Shuttered publications often sell their domain and brand to new owners. If Find.co sells salon.com, a buyer could relaunch the site under the Salon name or redirect the domain.

Salon's archive goes dark

Unlikely Resolves by May 5, 2027

Discussed by: Readers and former staff, given the site's uncertain ownership

Keane's "for now" leaves open the possibility that the archive is eventually taken offline. If Find.co stops paying to host the site, salon.com could stop resolving or lose its back catalog.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

August 2016

Gawker shutdown (2016)

Gawker Media filed for bankruptcy and shut down its flagship site after losing a privacy lawsuit funded by Peter Thiel. The company's other properties were sold to Univision, and Gawker's archive was eventually moved under new ownership.

Then

Gawker.com stopped publishing and its staff scattered to other outlets.

Now

The brand and archive changed hands more than once, showing that a shuttered site's back catalog can outlive the publication.

Why this matters now

Salon faces the same question Gawker did: what happens to a defunct outlet's archive and brand after the staff is gone.

April 2023

BuzzFeed News shutdown (2023)

BuzzFeed shut down its award-winning news division, citing an inability to sustain the operation financially. The closure eliminated dozens of journalism jobs and marked the end of a decade-long bet on digital news.

Then

BuzzFeed News stopped publishing and its staff were laid off.

Now

The closure became a reference point for the collapse of ad-supported digital news outlets.

Why this matters now

Variety grouped Salon with BuzzFeed and Gawker as sites that struggled to monetize general-audience reporting.