Salon.com - publication

From Wikipedia:
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group (OTCBB: SLNM), often just called Salon, is an online magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot as one of the internet's first online publications. Salon primarily focuses on left-leaning American politics, but it covers a range of issues. Reviews and articles about music, books and films are also a prominent feature of the site. Salon's headquarters are located west of downtown San Francisco, California. Its current editor-in-chief is Joan Walsh.

Content and coverage
Salon magazine covers a variety of topics. It has reviews and articles about music, books, and films. It also has articles about "modern life", including relationships, friendships and human sexual behavior. It covers technology, with a particular focus on the free software/open source movement.

Salon has always been an interactive site to some degree. The "salon" concept is played out in two discussion board communities open exclusively to online subscribers, Salon Table Talk and The WELL, and since 2005, comments on editorial stories open to all readers.

In 2008, Salon launched its biggest interactive initiative, Open Salon, a social content site/blog network for its readers.

Responding to the question "how far do you go with the tabloid sensibility to get readers?", former Salon.com editor-in-chief David Talbot said:

Is Salon more tabloid-like? Yeah, we've made no secret of that. I've said all along that our formula here is that we're a smart tabloid. If by tabloid what you mean is you're trying to reach a popular audience, trying to write topics that are viscerally important to a readership, whether it's the story about the mother in Houston who drowned her five children or the story on the missing intern in Washington, Chandra Levy.

Salon.com has also been criticized for its left-leaning content by notable figureheads of the libertarian movement such as Lew Rockwell. Lew Rockwell and those affiliated with his movement like economist Tom Woods have described some of the content published at Salon.com as inaccurate and politically-motivated smear attacks.

Key people
Regular contributors include the political opinion writers Glenn Greenwald and Mike Madden; investigative reporter Mark Benjamin; critics Laura Miller, Heather Havrilesky, Stephanie Zacharek and Andrew O'Hehir; columnist Garrison Keillor; aviation columnist Patrick Smith, culture critic Camille Paglia; feminist writer Rebecca Traister; advice columnist Cary Tennis, and cartoonist Tom Tomorrow, author of This Modern World.

David Talbot was the founder and original editor-in-chief. Richard Gingras is the CEO. Joan Walsh is the editor-in-chief. Kerry Lauerman is Salon's executive editor. Gail Williams manages The WELL. Norman Blashka is the CFO and VP of Operations.

History
Salon itself was first published in 1995, later purchasing the virtual community The WELL in April 1999, and making its initial public offering of Salon.com on the NASDAQ stock exchange on June 22 of that year.

Salon Premium, a pay-to-view (online) content subscription was introduced on April 25, 2001. The service signed over 130,000 subscribers and staved off discontinuation of services. However, less than two years later, in November 2002, the company announced it had accumulated cash and non-cash losses of $80 million, and by February 2003 it was having difficulty paying its rent, and made an appeal for donations to keep the company running.

On October 9, 2003, Michael O'Donnell, the chief executive and president of Salon Media Group, said he was leaving the company after seven years because it was "time for a change." When he left, Salon.com had accrued $83.6 million in losses since its inception, and its stock traded for 5¢ on the OTC Bulletin Board. David Talbot, Salon's chairman and editor-in-chief at the time, became the new chief executive. Elizabeth "Betsy" Hambrecht, then Salon's chief financial officer, became the president.

In July 2008, Salon launched Open Salon, a "social content site" and "curated blog network" It was nominated for a 2009 National Magazine Award. in the category "best interactive feature."

Business model and operations
Aspects of the Salon.com site offerings, ordered by advancing date:

--Free content, around 15 new articles posted per-day, revenues wholly derived from in-page advertisements.
--Per-day new content was reduced for a time.
--Salon Premium subscription. Approximately 20% of new content made available to subscribers only. Other subscription benefits included free magazines and ad-free viewing. Larger, more conspicuous ad units introduced for non-subscribers.
--A hybrid subscription model. Readers now can read content by viewing a 15-second full screen advertisement to earn a "day pass" or gain access by subscribing to Salon Premium.