Salon: Friends in high places

By Stefanie Olsen
Posted on ZDNet News: Jan 16, 2004 7:20:00 PM

Salon Media Group said this week that it raised $800,000 from Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner and Adobe Systems Co-Chairman John Warnock. The cash infusion compounds several rounds of financing, totaling nearly $3 million, that the company has raised since July 2002, when the dot-com doldrums were in full swing. Included in that total is an investment last March of $800,000 by Warnock, a Salon board member, and W.R. Hambrecht co-founder Bill Hambrecht.

As part of this week's investment, Wenner, who also is chairman of publishing conglomerate Wenner Media, will join Salon's board of directors. "Everyone at Salon is also very excited about collaborating with Rolling Stone, which has a rich history of political journalism, on a series of major news stories during this crucial election year," Salon founder and CEO David Talbot said in a statement. Salon has about 73,000 subscribers for its premium news and commentary service, according to the company.