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Salon's Balancing Act

Since the dawn of the dot-com, news publishers have split into two camps. One group followed the lead of The Wall Street Journal and charged for news, while the other aped broadcast TV by selling ads and giving content away free -- sometimes requiring reader registration, sometimes not. But there is a third way that combines the two, which has drawn far less attention. Leading the way is none other than tiny, never-say-die Salon, which, although not known for its business acumen -- its stock price is 18 cents a share -- still manages to stay afloat, recently announcing its first profitable quarter ever (well, almost). Salon offers an ad-free environment for subscribers willing to shell out $35 a year, as well as a Site Pass that requires visitors who are allergic to paying for online content to sit through an advertisement before accessing the site.

Read the whole story at Wired, May 26, 2005 »

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