Salon.com

Salon.com is an Internet-based media company founded in 1995 by editor-in-chief David Talbot and several other colleagues from the San Francisco Examiner. Though providing several services, it is best known for its online magazine, with content updated each weekday. Its headquarters are located in downtown San Francisco, California.

History

As one of the earliest and most prominent web-only media outlets, Salon.com's history is reflective of the difficulties in creating a profitable business selling original, professionally-produced media content over the Internet. On June 22, 1999, Salon.com IPO'd on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Though dot-com speculation had not yet reached its peak by then, the performance of Salon.com's stock offering was mediocre, reflecting investor skepticism about its business model and the dutch auction IPO model it used to go public.

Related Topics:
Web - June 22 - 1999 - IPO - NASDAQ - Dot-com

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Such skepticism would soon be confirmed as Salon.com announced ever-increasing total losses. On November 13, 2002, the company announced it had accumulated cash and non-cash losses of $80 million. By February 2003 it was having difficulty paying its rent, and made an appeal for donations to keep the company running.

Related Topics:
November 13 - 2002 - February 2003

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On April 25, 2003 Salon.com launched Salon Premium, one of the first online content subscriptions. Salon Premium, having successfully signed over 130,000 subscribers, defied critical expectations and staved off discontinuation of services.

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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.

Related Topics:
October - 2003 - Michael O'Donnell - Chief executive - OTC Bulletin Board - Chief financial officer

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As of early spring 2005, Salon.com had made a quarterly profit for the first time in its existence, benefiting from a resurgent online ad market and an established subscription business. However Salon.com is still in a precarious financial position as its stock has been delisted from the NASDAQ exchange and currently trades as an over-the-counter penny stock for less than 50¢ per share.

Related Topics:
2005 - Penny stock

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Below is an overview of Salon.com's business model and operations, ordered by advancing date:

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• Free, around 15 new articles posted per-day, revenues wholly derived from in-page advertisements
• Per-day new content reduced
• Salon Premium subscription service launched. 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.
• Hybrid subscription model rolled in. Readers can access content by viewing a 15-second full screen advertisement to earn a "day pass" or gain access by subscribing to Salon Premium.