# Salon to close after 31 years as online publishing model proves unsustainable

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/salon-internets-oldest-general-interest-publication-shuts-down-after-31-years/
- Published: 2026-11-05T23:11:14+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T23:18:58+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/nov/05/salon-website-shuts-down
- Topics: Art, Culture, World

## Key points

- Salon says its publishing model is no longer sustainable.
- The publication is closing after 31 years.
- It was founded in San Francisco in 1995.

## Summary

Salon has announced it will close after 31 years, saying its publishing model is no longer sustainable as the business realities of independent digital journalism have changed. The decision ends one of the early internet’s pioneering publications, known for its coverage of politics, arts and culture.

Founded in San Francisco in 1995, Salon announced the closure on Thursday, weeks before its anniversary on 20 November. The Columbia Journalism Review described it in 2011 as the internet’s oldest general interest publication; it was named Time’s website of the year in 1996 and won BusinessWeek’s best website award in 1997.

## Coverage

- [The Guardian: Salon to close after 31 years as online publishing model proves unsustainable](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/nov/05/salon-website-shuts-down)
- [The Verge: Salon is shutting down after 31 years](https://www.theverge.com/news/1028281/salon-dot-com-shuts-down)
- [Deadline: Online Media Pioneer Salon To Shutter: “Our Publishing Model Is No Longer Sustainable”](https://deadline.com/2026/11/online-media-pioneer-salon-shutting-down-1237214965/)
- [New York Post: Lefty digital news site Salon closes after 31 years](https://nypost.com/2026/11/05/media/lefty-digital-news-site-salon-closes-after-31-years/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.