Found 1,900 paragraphs deep in this Politico article on the fall of Salon:
...It seems there is a sense of urgency about Salon’s future. Hambrecht is in his early 80s, and Warnock is 75. Because Salon has run deficits for almost every quarter since it was founded, the company has relied on regular interest-free cash advances from Warnock, chairman of Salon’s board, and Hambrecht, a board member. From Salon’s founding until the end of 2015, the most recent data available, Warnock and Hambrecht have given the company nearly $20 million in cash advances, and Warnock also personally guaranteed a $1 million line of credit.“You have two founders who are aging who were writing six-figures checks every year to cover operating costs,” one person close to the company said.If Salon’s continued existence remains dependent on them, the company could be in a precarious position...
Beauty didn't kill the Beast.
Airplanes killed the Beast.
Also always, always follow the money.
4 comments:
". . . always, always follow the money."
Extremely good advice.
Thank you for submitting "Salon in Peril" to Sleepless Nights: Things To Worry About.
Your submission has been assigned position 3,717 in the queue. (Yes, we were feeling gwnerous.)
Haven't cracked the G Gnome code to understand why this piece provoked this thought.
But there are different financial laws'
The Scalia Activist judge rule (law) from the bench on "money is speech", for wealthy speakers who want to speak anonymously.
There is the law if the average income voter contributes, he/she must by law fill out disclosure info. Even for a $10 donation.
We also have the 501 (c)4 plan for conservatives only that tax payers fund through non profit status to campaign for conservative politicians.
Following the money is permitted under law for other than the GOP or the billionaire class. Who would be so shamed and harmed if it became public how their private funding get-economics taxpayer non profit status to to make All Americans pay for their ideological war.
And the rest of us pay for it through our taxes.
Like when Trump says he will make Mexico pay for a wall he want s to build. The wealth class is building a oligarchy and making us pay for it to be built.
I was on board with them way back when - even subscribed when that was first offered. They had writers I really cared about. Gradually they dropped out, or were dropped, and the tone changed irrevocably. When Walsh fired Charlie Taylor, for me that was it; stopped subscribing, told them why, and had to watch the slow swirl begin. Powerful sound of suck - and there are still people there who I am glad to read - Marcotte, O'Hehir (though he is being stretched to the breaking point lately...), and Digby (but she re-posts at he own place). The ridiculous clickbait sexytime items, the insane Bernie Bro posts - NONE of this shit would have passed muster even ten years ago. Who the hell is most of it for, anyway?
So, while I would hate to see them go entirely, the thrill has been gone for a long time. The one thing I do hope is that they fix their fucking archive so that the many great pieces from the early years are saved and are accessible - though it may be that present editors would want to suppress them out of embarrassment. If so, they should bow their heads in shame.
Post a Comment