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Online news site Salon announces closure after 31 years

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly left-leaning (67%).

4 articles in total, 1 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Red Salon wordmark with a black CLOSED sign hanging over it
Image via The Daily BeastHow images are chosenReport this image

Salon, an online general interest publication founded in 1995, announced on Thursday that it is closing after 31 years. In an open letter titled “Goodbye from Salon,” the outlet said it could no longer operate in today’s volatile media climate, and said changing business realities had made its publishing model no longer sustainable. The New York Post and The Daily Beast say the site was launched by a group of journalists led by David Talbot, who served as its editor-in-chief until 2005. The Guardian describes Salon as the oldest general interest publication on the internet. The closure comes weeks before the site’s 20 November anniversary.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Salon announced on Thursday that it is closing after 31 years.

    Reported byFar Left2Left1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast, Salon
    Left
    The Guardian
    Right
    New York Post

  2. In an open letter, Salon said it could no longer operate in today’s volatile media climate.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

  3. Salon was launched on November 20, 1995, by a small group of journalists led by David Talbot.

    Reported byFar Left1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Right
    New York Post

  4. Talbot served as Salon’s editor-in-chief until 2005.

    One outletThe Daily Beast· Far Left

  5. The Guardian describes Salon as the oldest general interest publication on the internet.

    One outletThe Guardian· Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report that Salon, founded in 1995, is closing after 31 years and that it announced the closure in a statement on Thursday. The left presents the closure as the end of a pioneering publication, while the right puts the outlet’s left-leaning politics first.

  • the left

    2 outlets · 1 opinion

    Left-side headlines frame the closure as the end of a pioneering internet publication, stressing its age and early role in digital media.

    Salon, internet’s oldest general interest publication, shuts down after 31 years
    The GuardianLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The right-side headline, from the New York Post alone, labels the outlet by its politics as a lefty site before reporting the closure.

    Loaded modifier“Lefty”The label reduces the outlet to its political leaning in a news headline, before the closure is described.More neutral: Left-leaningDisagree with this highlight? digital news site Salon closes after 31 years
    New York PostRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right1

    Lefty

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded modifier

    LeftyMore neutral: Left-leaning

    The label reduces the outlet to its political leaning in a news headline, before the closure is described.

    Lefty digital news site Salon closes after 31 years

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

2 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • pioneering role in online journalism
  • 31-year history
  • the outlet’s own farewell statement
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The GuardianLeft

    Salon, internet’s oldest general interest publication, shuts down after 31 years

    Website known for politics, arts and culture coverage announces closure just weeks before anniversary Salon, one of the early internet’s pioneering publications, is closing after more than three decades, the outlet announced on Thursday. …

    Read at The Guardian (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    Pioneering Digital Publication Shuts Down After 31 Years

    The digital news site Salon has published its last story after 31 years of operation. Known for its political and cultural commentary, the website, founded in 1995, was an early adopter of digital media. …

    Read at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)
  • SalonFar LeftOpinion

    Goodbye from Salon

    Today, after 31 years, we are saddened to announce that Salon is ceasing publication. It’s difficult to find the right words for the end of something that has meant so much to so many people. Salon was never just a website. …

    Read at Salon (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the outlet’s left-leaning politics
  • its open letter
  • well-known contributors
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • New York PostRight

    Loaded modifier“Lefty”The label reduces the outlet to its political leaning in a news headline, before the closure is described.More neutral: Left-leaningDisagree with this highlight? digital news site Salon closes after 31 years

    Salon.com, the digital news site known for its political and cultural commentary, said Thursday it is closing up after 31 years.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    The Daily Beast, Nov 5, 4:23 PM EST

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    1 hr later

    Its first report, Nov 5, 5:27 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Daily BeastFar LeftNov 5, 4:23 PM EST
  2. The GuardianLeftNov 5, 4:27 PM EST
  3. New York PostRightNov 5, 5:27 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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