I have no regrets about launching Salon. For the life of me, I can't imagine doing anything else. David Talbot More Quotes by David Talbot More Quotes From David Talbot I knew I wanted to be a journalist ever since I was a teenager. While it is interesting and gratifying to be on the business side and to see how that all works, the main reason I kept a business role here was to protect the editorial integrity of Salon. David Talbot teenager business integrity While I'm critical to the Bush presidency, it's been enormously beneficial for Salon because we're seen as kind of an aggressive watchdog on the Bush White House. Particularly since Florida, our readership hit a whole new level, and we held onto those readers. David Talbot florida white house I actually do think the history is so epic that it actually kind of writes itself. David Talbot epic writing thinking I got kicked out of high school, so I couldn't get into very many colleges. David Talbot high-school college school I know that doesn't sound very radical and webby of me to say that but I think the New York Times is important. I also think there's an occasional piece that will pop out. David Talbot important new-york thinking I think there is a difference between Slate and Salon. I think we both serve important functions on the Internet. As more and more Websites disappear, I'm thankful Slate is still around because it makes things less lonely. David Talbot differences lonely thinking Most magazines have become wallpaper, they're all the same, all the same celebrities. It's really an abysmal time in American journalism right now. But occasionally one story or two will pop out. David Talbot magazines stories two When you're kept by a patron you don't have to duke it out in the media marketplace for dollars and for readers. In some ways that's a blessing because it takes a lot of pressure off you. David Talbot dollars media blessing The entire economy, of course, is locked in a down cycle right now. Last time we weathered this was during another Bush presidency in '90. We were locked in it for a year and a half and everyone came out of it. David Talbot lasts half years People sort of take it for granted, but the more you see of the media world the more you appreciate a paper like the Times where its family continues to invest in editorial quality and I think it's the truly is the best paper in the world. David Talbot media people thinking The only school that let me in was U.C. Santa Cruz, which is where I went. They didn't have a journalism program, so I took sociology, which is the closest thing to journalism. David Talbot santa journalism school The entire American media apparatus bought into the drug war - which is an enormously damaging and costly undertaking for this country - and there wasn't enough critical reporting about it and that's why it's gotten out of hand. David Talbot media war country Even more important maybe, or equally more important at least, is they don't have to scrap for a living. David Talbot scrap important literature After Watergate, which happened when I was in college, I became increasingly inspired by journalism as a way to change the world. It sounds corny, but to wake the public up, to serve a higher cause. David Talbot change college sound My favorite thing is still journalism. I'm almost 50. This has been my life ever since I was in college. David Talbot favorites-things college literature Most Sunday magazines, with the New York Times as an exception, are kind of sleepy, weekend service vehicles to move living room products. David Talbot new-york sleep moving Other than that one year, Salon has been very cautious about the way it spends money. For instance, since last year, we've had virtually no marketing budget. It's just word of mouth. And our circulation continues to grow that way by breaking news stories. David Talbot news-stories marketing years I came at age in the '60s, and initially my hopes and dreams were invested in politics and the movements of the time - the anti-war movement, the civil rights movement. I worked on Bobby Kennedy's campaign for president as a teenager in California and the night he was killed. David Talbot teenager dream war A lot of my idealism was frustrated by the end of the '60s because of the way things went with the assassinations and the sense that the political establishment was so fixed in its ways you couldn't change anything. David Talbot frustrated political change Do I regret taking the company public? Yes and no. Yes, because it put us under enormous pressure for a young company to go public at that point in its history, something you never could have done in the old days. David Talbot yes-and-no regret done
