Salon.com
{{Short description|American progressive news and opinion website}}
{{Other uses|Salon (disambiguation){{!}}Salon}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Salon
| logo = Salon logo 2021.svg
| screenshot = Salon screenshot - Jan 3, 2023.png
| url = {{url|salon.com}}
| commercial = Yes
| type = News website
| registration = Optional
| language = English
| owner = {{plainlist| *Find.co{{cite web|work=Salon|url=http://www.salon.com/about/|title=About Salon}}}}
| author = {{plainlist| *David Talbot
- Gary Kamiya
- Andrew Ross
- Mignon Khargie
- Scott Rosenberg
- Laura Miller}}
| editor = Erin Keane (Editor in Chief)
| key_people = Drew Schoentrup (CEO)
| launch_date = {{start date and age|1995|4|18}}{{cite web|url=http://whois.domaintools.com/salon.com|title=Salon.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info – DomainTools|work=WHOIS|access-date=October 14, 2016}}
| current_status = Online
| footnotes = {{OCLC|43916723}}
}}
Salon is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events.{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/media/story/2016/05/the-fall-of-saloncom-004551 |title=The fall of Salon.com |first1=Kelsey |last1=Sutton |first2=Peter |last2=Sterne |website=Politico|date=March 27, 2016 |access-date=April 1, 2020}}{{Cite news|first=Kelsey|last=Sutton|url=http://www.politico.com/media/story/2016/08/new-salon-very-different-from-the-old-salon-004705|title=The new Salon – very different from the old Salon|website=Politico|date=August 10, 2016|access-date=March 29, 2017}}{{cite web|first=Callum|last= Borchers|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/20/note-to-liberal-media-outlets-opposition-to-syrian-refugees-is-not-a-fringe-position/|title=Note to liberal media outlets: Opposition to Syrian refugees is not a fringe position|newspaper=Washington Post|publisher=Nash Holdings LLC|location=Washington DC|date=November 20, 2015|access-date=March 29, 2017}}{{Cite news|first=Howard|last=Kurtz|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/salons-clickbait-strategy-the-phantom-fight-against-fox-news|title=Salon's clickbait strategy: The phantom fight against Fox News|website=Fox News|publisher=News Corp.|date=May 11, 2015|access-date=March 29, 2017|language=en-US}}
Content and coverage
{{Liberalism US}}
Salon covers a variety of topics, including reviews and articles about books, films, and music;{{cite web|work=Salon|url=http://www.salon.com/about/|title=About Salon}} articles about "modern life", including friendships, human sexual behavior, and relationships; and reviews and articles about technology, with a particular focus on the free and open-source software (FOSS) movement.
According to the senior contributing writer for the American Journalism Review, Paul Farhi, Salon offers "provocative (if predictably liberal) political commentary and lots of sex."{{cite journal |first=Paul|last=Farhi|url=http://ajrarchive.org/article.asp?id=314 |title=Can Salon Make It?|journal=American Journalism Review|publisher=University of Maryland, College Park|location=College Park, Maryland|date=March 2001 |access-date=May 24, 2015 }}
In 2008, Salon launched the interactive initiative Open Salon, a social content site/blog network for its readers. Originally a curated site with some of its content being featured on Salon, it fell into editorial neglect and was closed in March 2015.{{cite web|work=Open Salon|author=Open Salon Staff|date=March 10, 2015|title=News about Open Salon|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/open_staff/2015/03/09/news_about_open_salon|access-date=March 12, 2015|archive-date=March 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150312045554/http://open.salon.com/blog/open_staff/2015/03/09/news_about_open_salon|url-status=dead}}
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:
{{Blockquote|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.|}}
Staff and contributors
File:Alex Pareene 2012 Shankbone 2.JPG, who wrote about politics for Salon, in New York in 2012]]
Salon.com, originally salon1999.com, was founded in 1995 by David Talbot, Gary Kamiya, Andrew Ross, Mignon Khargie, Scott Rosenberg, and Laura Miller.{{Cite web|last=Kamiya|first=Gary|date=November 15, 2005 |title=Ten years of Salon|url=https://www.salon.com/2005/11/14/salon_history/|access-date=January 15, 2022 |website=Salon}}
Regular contributors have included the political-opinion writers Amanda Marcotte, Scott Eric Kaufman, Heather Digby Parton and Sean Illing, critic Andrew O'Hehir and pop-culture columnist Mary Elizabeth Williams.
David Talbot, founder and original editor-in-chief, also served several stints as CEO,{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/27/salon-ceo-site-relaunch_n_981992.html |title=Salon CEO Calls For 'American Spring' With Site's Relaunch |work=Huffington Post |date=September 27, 2011 |access-date=October 4, 2011 |last=Calderone | first= Michael}} most recently replacing Richard Gingras, who left to join Google as head of news products in July 2011.{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1084332/000143774911004646/salon_8k-070711.htm |title= Form 8-K, Salon Media Group, Inc. |date= July 7, 2011 |publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |access-date=July 26, 2013}} Joan Walsh was the second editor-in-chief, serving in that role starting in 2005.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/salons-editor-chief-joan-walsh-steps-down-22364/|title=Salon{{'}}s Editor-in-Chief Joan Walsh Steps Down|date=November 8, 2010}} She stepped down as editor-in-chief in November 2010 and was replaced by Kerry Lauerman.{{cite web|last=Walsh |first=Joan |date=November 8, 2010 |url=http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/joan_walsh/politics/2010/11/08/i_am_not_leaving_salon/index.html |work=Salon |title=I'm not leaving Salon! |access-date=December 12, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217060613/http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/joan_walsh/politics/2010/11/08/i_am_not_leaving_salon/index.html |archive-date=December 17, 2010}} David Daley took over the editor-in-chief position in June 2013.{{cite web|url=http://observer.com/2013/06/kerry-lauerman-is-leaving-salon/|title=Kerry Lauerman is Leaving Salon, Dave Daley Named Interim Editor in Chief|first=Kara|last=Bloomgarden-Smoke|date=June 5, 2013|work=The New York Observer}}{{cite news|title=Salon editor David Daley first Willson-Grady Digital Media Fellow|url=http://grady.uga.edu/news/view/salon_editor_david_daley_first_willson_grady_digital_media_fellow#.VHeNGoVKZVY|date=February 19, 2014|first=Dave|last=Marr|publisher=Grady College|archive-date=December 5, 2014|access-date=November 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205034345/http://grady.uga.edu/news/view/salon_editor_david_daley_first_willson_grady_digital_media_fellow#.VHeNGoVKZVY|url-status=dead}}
Jordan Hoffner took over as CEO in May 2016, also serving as editor-in-chief.{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/media/story/2016/05/incoming-salon-ceo-signals-big-changes-ahead-004557|publisher=Politico|title=Incoming Salon CEO signals big changes ahead|author=Sutton, Kelsey|date=May 31, 2016}} He resigned in May 2019, and was succeeded as editor-in-chief by Erin Keane.
{{As of|September 2021|post=,}} Salon{{'}}s CEO was Chris Richmond, and its editor-in-chief was Erin Keane.{{Cite web|title=Staff {{!}} Salon.com|url=https://www.salon.com/about/staff|access-date=2021-09-01|website=Salon}}
History
{{mulitple images
| perrow = 1
| caption_align = center
| footer = Former logos of Salon
| image1 = Salon logo 2009.gif
| caption1 = 2009-2012
| image2 = Salon website logo.png
| caption2 = 2012-2017
| image3 = Salon Logo 2019.svg
| caption3 = 2017-2019
}}
Salon was created in the wake of the San Francisco newspaper strike of 1994, by former San Francisco Examiner arts and features editor David Talbot who wished to explore the potential of Web.{{Cite journal|last=Pogash |first=Carol |title=Cyberspace Journalism |journal=American Journalism Review |access-date=July 8, 2011 |date=June 1, 1996 |url=http://www.enews.com/magazines/ajr/archive/960601-001.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961228232313/http://www.enews.com/magazines/ajr/archive/960601-001.html |archive-date=December 28, 1996 }}{{cite web|last=Herhold |first=Scott |title=Net magazine Salon epitomizes fate of mind over matter |work=San Jose Mercury News |access-date=July 7, 2011 |date=December 28, 1997 |url=http://www5.mercurycenter.com/business/center/salon122997.htm# |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990221024841/http://www5.mercurycenter.com/business/center/salon122997.htm%23 |archive-date=February 21, 1999 |url-status=dead }} It launched as salonmag.comVaughn, Seven L. Encyclopedia of American Journalism (2008). Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-96950-5}}. in November 1995. In its early days, readers noticed a specifically Northern California flavor. In 1996, Talbot agreed: "We swim in the soup of San Francisco. There are a lot of odd fish we've plucked out of the bay here and it gives us some of that Left Coast, Weird Coast style."Adam Begley, "Reading Bytes", San Francisco magazine [formerly San Francisco Focus], October 1997, p. 128. Time magazine named it one of the Best Web Sites of 1996.{{cite magazine |url= http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,135245,00.html|title=The Best Web Sites of 1996 |author= |magazine=Time |access-date=July 29, 2015}}
Salon purchased the virtual community The WELL in April 1999 (switching to its current URL, salon.com, at roughly that time), and made its initial public offering (IPO) of Salon.com on the NASDAQ stock exchange on June 22 of that year.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/ipos/filing.ashx?filingid=940074|title=SALON INTERNET INC|website=www.nasdaq.com|access-date=April 28, 2017}} Subsequently, for the month of October 1999, Nielsen/NetRatings reported that Salon had over two million users.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-11-fi-64019-story.html|title=Salon.com Wins Credibility Online With Intelligent and Stylish Content|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=April 28, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}
Salon Premium, a pay-to-view (online) content subscription was introduced on April 25, 2001. The service signed up 130,000 subscribers and staved off discontinuation of services. However, 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
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." On March 9, 2015, Salon announced it would be closing Open Salon after six years of hosting a community of writers and bloggers.
Salon closed its online chat board "Table Talk" on June 10, 2011, without stating an official reason for ending that section of the site.{{cite web| last = Williams| first = Mary Elizabeth| work=Salon|title = Au revoir, Table Talk| date = June 10, 2011|url=http://www.salon.com/2011/06/10/requiem_for_table_talk/}}
On July 16, 2012, Salon announced that it would be featuring content from Mondoweiss.{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/topic/mondoweiss/|work=Salon|title=Mondoweiss|access-date=August 1, 2012|archive-date=August 1, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801155346/http://www.salon.com/topic/mondoweiss/|url-status=dead}}
Salon Media Group sold The WELL to the group of members in September 2012.{{cite web|website=Well.com|url=http://www.well.com/p-release/pr_20120920.pdf|title=Salon Media Group Sells The WELL to The Well Group|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115163522/http://www.well.com/p-release/pr_20120920.pdf|archive-date=November 15, 2012}}
= Business model and operations =
Salon has been unprofitable through its entire history.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} Since 2007, the company has been dependent upon repeated cash injections from board Chairman John Warnock and William Hambrecht, father of former Salon CEO Elizabeth Hambrecht.{{cite web|url=https://wrhambrecht.com/about/|title=About WR Hambrecht + Co|website=wrhambrecht.com|access-date=October 3, 2018|archive-date=October 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003220907/https://wrhambrecht.com/about/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://insiders.morningstar.com/trading/board-of-directors.action?t=0P000004T4&culture=en-US|title=Salon Media Group Inc Board of Directors|website=insiders.morningstar.com|access-date=October 3, 2018|archive-date=October 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003221007/http://insiders.morningstar.com/trading/board-of-directors.action?t=0P000004T4&culture=en-US|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.salon.com/about/staff|title=Salon.com – News, Politics, Business, Technology & Culture|website=Salon.com |access-date=October 3, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Salon-com-beats-the-odds-S-F-online-magazine-2558829.php|title=Salon.com beats the odds / S.F. online magazine courses into its second decade|date=December 1, 2005|website=sfgate.com|access-date=October 3, 2018}} During the nine months ending on December 31, 2012, these cash contributions amounted to $3.4 million, compared to revenue in the same period of $2.7 million.{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1084332/000143774913001586/smg_10q-123112.htm|title=Form 10-Q, Salon Media Group, Inc.|date=February 14, 2013|publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission|access-date=July 26, 2013}} In December 2016 and January 2017, the company was evicted from its New York offices at 132 West 31st Street, a block from Madison Square Garden, for non-payment of $90,000 in back rent.{{cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2017/08/03/salon-struggling-to-pay-its-rent/|title=Salon struggling to pay its rent|last1=Kelly|first1=Keith J.|date=August 3, 2017|access-date=September 5, 2018|newspaper=New York Post}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1084332/000143774917011772/slnm20170331_10k.htm|title=Form 10-Q, Salon Media Group, Inc. |date=June 23, 2017 |publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |access-date=September 5, 2018}} In February 2017, Spear Point Capital invested $1 million into Salon, taking a 29% equity stake and three seats on the company's board.{{cite web|url=https://www.foliomag.com/spear-point-invests-1-million-salon-media-group/|title=Spear Point Invests $1 Million into Salon Media Group|date=February 2, 2017|website=Folio|language=en-US|access-date=April 9, 2019}} On August 30, 2019, Salon.com was sold for $5 million by Salon Media Group ({{OTC Expert|SLNM}}) to privately held Salon.com, LLC, which is owned by Chris Richmond and Drew Schoentrup.{{Cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2019/09/03/techies-wrap-up-5m-acquisition-of-salon-media/|title=Techies wrap up $5M acquisition of Salon Media|last=Kelly|first=Keith J.|date=September 4, 2019|website=New York Post|language=en|access-date=November 14, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1084332/000143774919017945/slnm20190905_8k.htm|title=slnm20190905_8k.htm|publisher=SEC|access-date=November 14, 2019}}
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 percent of new content was made available to subscribers only. Other subscription benefits included free magazines and ad-free viewing. Larger, more conspicuous ad units were introduced for non-subscribers.
- A hybrid subscription model: Readers can now read content by viewing a 15-second full screen advertisement to earn a "day pass" or gain access by subscribing to Salon Premium.
- Salon Core: After Salon Premium subscriptions declined from about 100,000 to 10,000, it was rebranded in 2011 as Salon Core subscriptions featuring a different mix of benefits.
- In 2018, Salon launched a beta program allowing customers to opt out of advertising in exchange for mining cryptocurrency.{{cite web|url=https://www.salon.com/about/faq-what-happens-when-i-choose-to-suppress-ads-on-salon/|title=FAQ: What happens when I choose to 'Suppress Ads" on Salon?'}}
Controversies
= Retracted article on vaccine conference =
{{Main|Deadly Immunity}}
An article called "Deadly Immunity" written by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared on the Salon and simultaneously in the July 14, 2005 issue of Rolling Stone.{{cite journal | url=http://www.nesl.edu/userfiles/file/lawreview/vol40/2/Moreno.pdf | title=Toxic Torts, Autism, and Bad Science: Why the Courts May Be Our Best Defense Against Scientific Relativism | author=Moreno, Joelle Anne | journal=New England Law Review | year=2006 | volume=40 | issue=2 | pages=414}} The article focused on the 2000 Simpsonwood CDC conference and claimed that thimerosal-containing vaccines caused autism,{{cite web | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rolling-stone-retracts-autism-article-but-lots-of-junk-journalism-remains/ | title=Rolling Stone Retracts Autism Article, but Lots of Junk Journalism Remains | work=CBS News | date=22 January 2011 | access-date=22 November 2015 | author=Edwards, Jim}} as well as the conspiracy theory that government health agencies have "colluded with Big Pharma to hide the risks of thimerosal from the public."{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/robert-kennedy-jrs-belief-in-autism-vaccine-connection-and-its-political-peril/2014/07/16/f21c01ee-f70b-11e3-a606-946fd632f9f1_story.html | title=Robert Kennedy Jr.'s belief in autism-vaccine connection, and its political peril | newspaper=Washington Post | date=18 July 2014 | access-date=22 November 2015 | author=Kloor, Keith | author-link=Keith Kloor}} The article was retracted by Salon on January 16, 2011, in response to criticisms of the article as inaccurate.{{cite web | url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2011/01/16/salon_mag_pulls_dangerous_and_fallacious_antivax_article.html | title=Salon mag pulls dangerous and fallacious antivax article | work=Slate.com | date=16 January 2011 | access-date=22 November 2015 | author=Plait, Phil}}
= Otto Warmbier =
In March 2016, while American tourist Otto Warmbier was imprisoned in North Korea for allegedly trying to steal a propaganda poster there, the site posted an article about him headed: "This might be America's biggest idiot frat boy: Meet the UVa student who thought he could pull a prank in North Korea."{{cite news|last1=Gauthier|first1=Brendan|title=This might be America's biggest idiot frat boy: Meet the UVa student who thought he could pull a prank in North Korea|url=http://www.salon.com/2016/03/02/this_might_be_americas_biggest_idiot_frat_boy_meet_the_uva_student_who_thought_he_could_pull_a_prank_in_north_korea/|access-date=June 24, 2017|work=Salon|date=March 2, 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160302210633/http://www.salon.com/2016/03/02/this_might_be_americas_biggest_idiot_frat_boy_meet_the_uva_student_who_thought_he_could_pull_a_prank_in_north_korea/|archive-date=March 2, 2016|url-status=dead}} After Warmbier's death, the article was removed.{{cite news|last1=Rosenberg|first1=Alyssa|title=What we can learn from the harshest responses to Otto Warmbier's captivity|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2017/06/21/what-we-can-learn-from-the-harshest-responses-to-otto-warmbiers-captivity/|access-date=June 24, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 21, 2017}} Andrew O'Hehir, the executive editor of Salon, said the article was a summary of the opinions of television comedian Larry Wilmore.{{cite news|last1=Tani|first1=Maxwell|title=Salon removes article calling Otto Warmbier 'America's idiot fratboy'|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/salon-removes-article-calling-otto-warmbier-americas-idiot-fratboy-2017-6|access-date=June 24, 2017|work=Business Insider|date=June 20, 2017|language=en}}
= Todd Nickerson =
In September 2015, Salon published an article written by Todd Nickerson, moderator of Virtuous Pedophiles, about his experiences with being a non-offending pedophile, titled: "I'm a pedophile, but not a monster."{{cite news |last=Nickerson |first=Todd |date=September 21, 2015 |title=I'm a pedophile, but not a monster |url=https://www.salon.com/2015/09/21/im_a_pedophile_but_not_a_monster |url-status=dead |work=Salon |location=Los Angeles |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160608101347/https://www.salon.com/2015/09/21/im_a_pedophile_but_not_a_monster/ |archive-date=June 8, 2016 |access-date=August 19, 2017 }} (Also available [https://www.alternet.org/2015/09/im-pedophile-not-monster/ here] on AlterNet. {{Cite web |url=http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/im-pedophile-not-monster |title=I'm a Pedophile, but Not a Monster | Alternet |work=Alternet |access-date=August 19, 2017 |archive-date=August 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819231749/http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/im-pedophile-not-monster |url-status=bot: unknown }}.) This caused controversy at the time, with some commentators accusing it of being "pro-pedophile" (in the sense of being pro-child sexual abuse) and Nickerson himself subject to a "backlash."{{cite news |last=Singal |first=Jesse |date=February 22, 2017 |title=Salon Shouldn't Have Unpublished Its Article by a Pedophile Author |url=http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2017/02/salon-shouldnt-have-unpublished-its-pedophilia-article.html |work=New York Magazine |location=New York |access-date=August 19, 2017}}{{cite news |last=Bolton |first=Doug |date=October 1, 2015 |title=Self-confessed paedophile Todd Nickerson tells critics: 'You're the real monsters' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/self-confessed-paedophile-todd-nickerson-tells-critics-youre-the-real-monsters-a6675946.html |work=The Independent |location=London |access-date=August 19, 2017}} This article, along with an accompanying video{{cite AV media |people=Todd Nickerson |date=September 21, 2015 |title="I'm A Pedophile, Not A Monster" |medium=YouTube |language=en |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCW5-VBdSi4 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120162819/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCW5-VBdSi4| archive-date=2016-11-20 | url-status=dead|access-date=August 19, 2017 |format=Video |location=Los Angeles |publisher=Salon }} and a follow-up article,{{cite news |last=Nickerson |first=Todd |date=September 30, 2015 |title=I'm a pedophile, you're the monsters: My week inside the vile right-wing hate machine |url=https://www.salon.com/2015/09/30/im_a_pedophile_youre_the_monsters_my_week_inside_the_vile_right_wing_hate_machine/ |url-status=dead |work=Salon |location=Los Angeles |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160608101334/https://www.salon.com/2015/09/30/im_a_pedophile_youre_the_monsters_my_week_inside_the_vile_right_wing_hate_machine/ |archive-date=June 8, 2016 |access-date=August 19, 2017 }} was deleted in early 2017. Some saw a connection between the removal of the articles and the controversy surrounding Milo Yiannopoulos's remarks on child sexual abuse that emerged in February 2017, although Salon Media Group CEO and Salon acting editor-in-chief Jordan Hoffner told New York magazine that they had been removed in January 2017 due to unspecified "new editorial policies." A third article by sex researcher Debra Soh defending Nickerson's side is still published as of April 2022.{{cite news |last=Soh |first=Debra W. |author-link=Debra Soh |date=October 27, 2015 |title=The pedophile I could not help: He was not a monster or a molester. The system destroyed him anyway |url=https://www.salon.com/2015/10/27/the_pedophile_i_could_not_help_he_was_not_a_monster_or_a_molester_the_system_destroyed_him_anyway/ |url-status=live |work=Salon |location=Los Angeles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324114059/https://www.salon.com/2015/10/27/the_pedophile_i_could_not_help_he_was_not_a_monster_or_a_molester_the_system_destroyed_him_anyway/ |archive-date=March 24, 2022 |access-date=March 29, 2022}}
= Cryptocurrency mining =
In February 2018, it was noted that Salon was preventing readers using ad blockers from seeing its content. Such users are offered a choice of disabling their blocker, or allowing Salon to run an in-browser script, using the user's resources, to mine Monero, a form of cryptocurrency.{{cite web |last1=Browne |first1=Ryan |title=US news site gives readers a choice: Disable your ad blocker or let us mine cryptocurrency |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/14/salon-disable-ad-blocker-or-let-us-mine-cryptocurrency-monero.html |website=CNBC |access-date=February 14, 2018 |date=February 14, 2018}}{{cite web |last1=Hatmaker |first1=Taylor |title=Salon's Monero mining project might be crazy like a fox |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/13/salon-coinhive-cryptocurrency-mining/ |website=TechCrunch |date=February 13, 2018 |access-date=February 14, 2018}}
= Ron DeSantis headline =
On June 23, 2021, Salon published an article with a headline falsely claiming that a bill signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis would force Florida students and professors to register their political views with the state of Florida. The article went viral on Twitter and its false claim was promoted by various Democratic commentators, by Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried (who later deleted her tweet linking to the Salon article), and by novelist Stephen King (who later expressed regret for posting the headline). In 2022, Salon executive editor Andrew O'Hehir said that Salon had recently concluded that the headline "conveyed a misleading impression of what the Florida law actually said, and did not live up to our editorial standards", and the headline was changed. Another Salon editor had initially defended the headline in 2021. DeSantis spokesperson Christina Pushaw said that her colleagues had tried unsuccessfully to get Salon to change the headline in 2021, adding: "It's good to see that Salon finally changed its false headline after the pushback they received yesterday. It should have happened much sooner. Better yet, the Salon reporter and editors should have read the legislation before writing an article about it (a good practice for journalism, in general!)."{{Cite web |last=Dale |first=Daniel |date=2022-07-08 |title=Fact check: Liberal website changes headline that falsely said DeSantis signed a bill that forces students to register their political views |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/08/politics/fact-check-desantis-florida-students-professors-political-views/index.html |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=CNN}}{{Cite web |last=Tulp |first=Sophia |date=2022-07-08 |title=Posts mischaracterize Florida law on college campus surveys |url=https://apnews.com/article/Fact-Check-Florida-University-Survey-Law-107829663504 |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}
References
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External links
- {{Official website|https://www.salon.com}}
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