Dot-com diehard Salon rides latest media tide
Mag adjusts to transformation of Internet into a video medium.
Salon was conceived in 1995 as a general-interest pub of tremendous reach -- and few worries about functioning as an actual business.
The mag has nearly died several times for lack of funding -- annual revenues have never been higher than the low millions -- but stubbornly continues to exist. Once the must-read on a Web filled with Suck, Feed and other gems, it has now become a symbol of dot-com survival, even as its content has grown more covert, hidden behind a high pay wall that has sent readership tumbling.
If its content hasn't always been as novel as ur-competitor Slate (which unlike Salon has had the deep pockets of owners Microsoft and the Washington Post), it's made up for that with ferocity.
Lately, the mag's been trying to adjust to the transformation of the Internet into a video medium. Its latest biz model lets non-subscribers view content for free, but only after watching a video ad. The site has also launched a video blog that culls the best of online personal diaries, and Salon execs have talked with MSNBC honchos about sharing vid content.
"We have to get out there and experiment," says Joan Walsh, who replaced founder David Talbot as editor in chief earlier this year.
The site's greatest legacy may be as an incubator: New York Times writer Allen Barra and L.A. Times editor Maria Russo are among its alums.
Last week, Walsh posted a rueful take on whether New Media has become Old Media, writing on the site that her reaction to that notion is much like her response to getting older: "It's better than the alternative."
