Last April 25, we bucked the conventional wisdom of the Internet industry and announced the launch of Salon Premium. Our subscription service, we believed, would show that Web readers are willing to pay for gutsy, independent journalism.
A year later, I'm proud to report that Salon Premium has been and continues to be a great success. More than 36,000 of you have stepped forward to purchase subscriptions to Salon Premium. To each and every subscriber, I extend my thanks: You've helped support Salon through a recession and an advertising downturn and, even more important, helped keep an alternative voice alive in the increasingly conformist media landscape.
These days, as the fever of perpetual war, fundamentalism and corporate plunder grips Washington, it's more important than ever for authority to be challenged by a tough, inquisitive media. Salon is one of the few national news outlets that have not been absorbed by the communications empires that dominate the flow of information in America. This allows us to break from the media pack and regularly publish news and commentary on everything from the Bush administration's assault on civil liberties to the civic corruptions of the drug war to the reaction against feminism and sexual freedom to the frustrating timidity of the political opposition.
If you're one of our 36,000 subscribers, you know that your $30 annual subscription gives you access to those Salon articles that are restricted to Premium members only, including nearly all of our award-winning news and political coverage; the option to read all of Salon without most advertising; and a variety of other special services, like the Daily Download edition of Salon for easy printout and the regular Salon Music Mixes for listening pleasure.
We're working hard to make Salon Premium an even greater value. We've just added the opportunity for subscribers to download one of six bestselling audiobooks for free, including Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections." We've also bundled in a six-month subscription to Mother Jones, the acclaimed investigative magazine. (Current subscribers can find out more here.) In the coming year we expect to keep adding great new features, columnists and useful services.
If you're already a subscriber, thanks again for your support -- and for keeping our presses rolling. If you haven't yet signed up, I invite you to subscribe today. (Or click here to find out more.)
David Talbot
Editor in chief
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